I Never Knew
by Cordys-Vision
Summary: Melanie and J.R. have lived in Toronto Jenny's entire life. She knows her mother's has a past in Pittsburgh, but nothing more. Now Jenny's going to stay with her Dad, Michael, in Pittsburgh while she attends College. Will Mel's past catch up with her?
1. Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts

**A/N: Alrighty. Hi everyone! I just started watching QAF a couple months ago( I know! I'm so late!) But it's a really great show, and I've finally finished all the seasons. This fanfiction popped into my head one day and I knew I had to get it down on paper. Gus and J.R., always had really prominent personalities to me, at least in my head anyway and I always thought with Melanie and Lindsey breaking up and getting back together so much what would happen if Melanie and Lindsey had split up after they'd moved to Toronto? What if J.R. had never known Lindsey and Gus barely remembered Mel? Well, here's what would happen from MY head's perspective. I know, that in order to write QAF fanfiction you have to be a really special kind of person, to capture the specific essence of each person. Now I'm not sure that I do that. But I'm having a lot of fun writing it and that's all that matters. Anyway, PLEASE review if you like it, and I suppose even if you don't. Thanks! **

**P.S. if anyone wants to make a video or a banner for this fanfiction. GO FOR IT. I picture Nina Dobrev as J.R. and Chace Crawford as Gus. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Queer as Folk, but I wish I did. I am making no profit of this. **

"Mom!"

Melanie Marcus started at the sound of her daughter's voice. She hadn't expected her home this early. It was only 3:30 and normally, J.R. had to stay late after school for something or other. She finished up the sentence she'd been writing out about one of her court cases and put down her pen. She knew she wouldn't be able to get any work done now that J.R. was home.

"Mom! Mom! MOM!" The girl shrieked, running into the room, her brown hair flowing out behind her, her bright eyes sparkling, and a bright white important looking envelope in her hand.

"It's here!" She said her cheeks flushed with excitement.

Melanie looked from her daughter to the envelope and back again.

"Oh my god." She said, a smile taking over her face. She got up from her seat, moving towards her daughter, and taking the envelope from her.  
"Christ." She said, a rush of breath coming from her as she turned the envelope over. They'd been waiting for this for what felt like years. Since Jenny Rebecca had learned how to color inside the lines, she'd wanted to be an artist. She lived it and breathed it. Their apartment in Toronto, Canada was covered with drawings, and paintings, and sculptures, all Jenny Rebecca originals. The art studio that had really been intended for a guest room, was cluttered with pastel sets and special sets of pencils, and easels. Sometimes Melanie thought that it would've been better if Lindsey had stuck around. She had been the artist after all, but Melanie was proud of the way she had raised her daughter. She was smart and confident and everyone around her couldn't help but love her. And now, she held in her hands either an acceptance or a rejection letter from the Pittsburgh institute of fine arts. Her daughter's entire future. Jenny was only sixteen, but she'd started kindergarten early. Melanie wanted to make sure she'd have the best in life so that she could be the best in life. One of the things she'd learned from Brian Kinney that had stuck. And now, her wonderful, perfect, brilliant, smart daughter had applied for early acceptance into the Pittsburgh Institute of fine arts. Her dream school, devoted to art.

"Okay. How do you want to do this?" Melanie said, looking up at her nervous daughter.

Jenny bit down on her lip, thinking for a moment and then she shook her head.

"You open it! I don't think I can do it…" She said, sounding completely out of breath. Melanie sighed and then led Jenny Rebecca over to the couch as they both sat down in unison.

"Okay." Melanie said taking a deep breath, before ripping the envelope open. She unfolded the letter, her heart beating fast. She cleared her throat.

"Dear Jennifer Rebecca, we, at the Pittsburgh Institute of Fine Arts, were fascinated by the work you have submitted."

Melanie looked up at her daughter, a small smile on her face. "Whatever happens remember that they were fascinated by your work!"

"Mom!" She said urgently, moving her hands to keep her reading.

"Sorry, sorry." Melanie mumbled recovering. She cleared her throat a little before starting again.

"Because of your impeccable grades, and obvious talent, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Pittsburgh institute of fine Arts!" Melanie paused staring down at the paper, and then looked up at her daughter, excitement in her eyes. "You did it, babe!" she said, excitement coating her voice as she threw her arms around her daughter.

"Oh my GOD! I can't BELIEVE it! I really….I can't BELIEVE this is happening!" Jenny replied hugging her mom back tightly. "Thank you so much for letting me apply!"  
It'd been a bit of long shot at one point. Melanie wanted nothing to do with Pittsburgh anymore. That's why she'd wanted to move to Toronto in the first place. It made Melanie feel a little sick to think about those times. When she'd first moved to Toronto. Everything had been wonderful. She'd had Lindsey, J.R., and Gus, and a wonderful house, but things turned sour quickly. Lindsey got bored. That isn't what she said, but Melanie knew that was what had happened. You couldn't keep a girl like Lindsey content in the suburbs for long. Lindsey had returned to Pittsburgh after only 9 months of being in Toronto, taking Gus with her and they hadn't spoken since. Lindsey had insisted that life in Toronto was not worth leaving the family behind in Pittsburgh. Melanie hadn't agreed. So Lindsey had left. Gus, Melanie was sure, hardly remembered her, and J.R. wouldn't be able to pick Lindsey out from Eve.

Melanie didn't really want her daughter wandering around in Pittsburgh, there was no way she wouldn't run into one of the old gang. And they'd surely recognize her. She was a spitting image of Michael, but with a touch of Melanie's softness. It actually made her quite beautiful. She had dark brown hair, that almost matched Michaels' to a tee if it wasn't for the soft hints of red spread throughout that came from Melanie. Her eyes were the same shape as Melanie's but they were soft. Endearing. Like Michaels'. Jenny didn't remember anything about Lindsey, and Melanie hadn't bothered to fill her in. Why mention a mother she'd never known? Why cause unnecessary abandonment issues? Michael, however, Jenny did know. And love. He was her father after all, and Melanie couldn't keep Michael from his daughter if she'd tried. Even though, Melanie hated Pittsburgh, and most of the people in it, she loved her daughter, and she knew that she wanted this more than anything in the world, so Melanie had relented.

"It's all you've ever wanted, baby. Of course!" She leaned in, pressing a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Are you excited?" She asked, unable to keep the proud smile off her face.

"I'm in shock. I can't believe it!" Jenny said again, shaking her head.

"Well believe it, babe! You're going to Pittsburgh!" She said, ignoring the swooping feeling her stomach encountered at saying the name of the city.

Jenny smiled, biting down on her lip to contain it. "Oh, I still can't believe it. This is so amazing. I'm going to be the best damn artist Pittsburgh has ever fucking seen!"

Melanie frowned, but only for a second. She could hardly contain her own excitement, why reprimand J.R. for the same thing? But her Motherly instincts took over.

"Language."

"_Freaking _seen. Sorry." She smiled.

Melanie stared down at the paper, shaking her head,

"Alright. Well, it looks like we'll just have to get an apartment down there in the fall, and we'll get you all set up for school. A nice two bedroom. And I'll stay down there with you, just to make sure everything goes okay for the first year or so…" Melanie paused, taking in the look on her daughter's face. She looked absolutely horrified. "What?"

"But…I thought…we talked about this." She said with a little sigh. "It doesn't make sense for you to come with me. I could just stay with Dad and Ben. They won't mind. Hunter lives with Jade now, but they still have his room, and Dad said I could have it whenever I want it-"

"You're not staying with Michael."

"Mom! He's my DAD! And he lives right there in Pittsburgh! I don't understand what the big deal is. I _want_ to stay there. I haven't been there since, I was four years old. "

Melanie could keep J.R. away from Lindsey. But she couldn't keep her away from Michael. She would've never managed it. Not legally. She'd taken her to visit him a few times in Pittsburgh when she was younger, but they'd never stayed long. The last time they'd gone there, J.R. had been four. Now, Michael came up to Toronto almost every summer along with Ben and Hunter, and recently Hunter's fiancée Jade, to spend time with J.R.

Melanie let out a long sigh. "I just…I don't know Jenny, it's…"

"Pittsburgh." She rolled her eyes. "I know. You always talk about it like it's the fucking fourth dimension of hell."

"It might as well be, and watch your language Jennifer."

"Sorry." She said with another roll of her eyes. "Well, I'm calling Dad anyway to let him know I got in." She said already pulling out her cell phone. "And then maybe _he_ could talk some sense into you." She punched the numbers angrily into the keypad.

Melanie placed a hand over the phone, her eyes pleading. "Jenny, listen. What's so bad about me coming with you? It won't be so awful, I'll stay out of your way. "

"Mom." Jenny said in a firm voice. "No one goes away to college with their mother."

"And they do with their fathers?" She questioned, raising a brow.

Jenny sighed, shaking her head. "Dad's…cool. I mean, he owns a comic book shop and Ben's like a professor. It's just less…" She sighed, shaking her head. "He's not my mom." She said as if that explained everything.

"Right. Because you're mother's only a_ killer_ lawyer. Owning a comic bookstore is SO much more important than saving innocent people's lives. " Melanie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I don't want you to uproot YOUR life here. I know you love it in Toronto. I want to live with Dad. And I wouldn't be going away WITH him. He's just conveniently placed. " She said firmly before pulling the phone away from Melanie's grasp, Melanie opened her mouth to say something, but Jenny shook her head.

"It's way cheaper than a dorm room." Melanie frowned and shut her mouth as Jenny and pressed the phone to her ear.

Melanie could hear the ringing from where she sat.

"Hello?" a deep voice vibrated, and Melanie knew it was Ben.

"Hi Ben!" J.R. answered in a cheery tone. "It's J.R., How are you?"

"Jenny!" Ben said, sounding ecstatic to be talking to her. Jenny Rebecca was like a little ray of sunshine for Ben and Michael. "I'm great. How are you? How's Mel?"

" I'm great . Mom's great, she's actually sitting across from me right now. You can talk to her in a second, I've just got something really important to tell Daddy, is he around?"

Ben laughed a little shaking his head, he'd always said how adorable it was that she was a total daddy's girl. She could hear him pull the phone away, and then heard a muffled.

"Michael! It's J.R.!"

A few seconds later, her father's voice filled the phone. "You _finally_ decide to give your dad a call after _months?"_ he scolded her and she laughed.

"It's barely been a week. And I've had school. But aren't you glad that I'm calling you now?" She said in a sweet voice.

"Of course I am. How are you?"

"I'm good." She said and then risked a glance up at her mother. She looked normal, but then, she was always really good at hiding how she was actually feeling.

"I'm just calling to tell you that I got in to the Pittsburgh institute of fine arts." The other end of the phone was silent for a few minutes.

"Dad?" Jenny questioned, uncertainly.

"Honey! That's great! Are you going to get a dorm? Because you know you can just come and stay with us, we have Hunter's room already for you, and everyone would love to see you're your Grandma Debbie's getting tired of living off of pictures of you. She keeps telling me 'If you don't get that girl down here soon, I'm going up there, kidnap her, and bring her back to keep to myself' "

J.R. laughed, "I'd love to come stay with you but-"

Melanie had already taken the phone from her. Jenny glared at her, but stayed where she was so that she could listen.

"But her mother doesn't think it's a good idea." She said into the phone. Melanie was silent for awhile and J.R. couldn't tell what her father was saying, but whatever it was it was making Melanie angry.

"I don't have a grudge against Pittsburgh, Michael. I have a GRUDGE against Lindsey!" she screamed and then let out an irritated groan.

"She's my daughter-" She paused in order for him to say something, and then she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know she is legally your daughter to-" She paused again. "Yes, I know she wants to go, and she will go, but why can't she just stay-" She fell silent once more and Jenny watched as her face began to soften.

"Michael, I can't let her go up there all by herself." And then she was silent for almost a full minute.

"No." She said sounding completely irritated, and J.R.'s heart sank. Melanie was never going to let her go.

But then, Melanie let out a little sigh, that sounded like she was relenting.

" Alright. Well, I suppose we could _try _and come down this weekend . She has spring break for the next two weeks."

She was quiet again and then she sighed. "She can stay with you, just to see how she likes it. I'll get a hotel."

Silence for a few moments, and then,

" No, Michael, it's fine. We'll be fine. Alright, I'll call you when were ready to leave. Bye." She said quickly and the snapped the phone shut handing it back to J.R.

She looked up at her mother completely confused. "So am I staying with Dad? And…who the fuck is Lindsey?"

Melanie looked up at her and shook her head. "Yes. You're staying with your father, but it isn't concrete. We're going to visit for your spring break and if everything goes alright…I'll send you off with a blessing in the fall."

Jenny's face lit up at that and she threw her arms around her mother, again. "Thank you so much, mom! You have no idea how much this means to me!" She held on tight and then pulled back smiling.

"But you still didn't tell me who Lindsey is."

Melanie sighed, "That's another story. For another day. You should start packing. "

Jenny watched her mom for a few moments, and then realizing she wasn't going to get anything out of her, gave her another hug and kiss on the cheek, whispering. "I love you, mom." Before, skipping off to her room to start packing.


	2. The Diner

**A/N: First things first. Thank you InconspiciousBunny for reviewing! At this point I'm writing for my enjoyment and for you. I wanted to make sure I took some time to answer your questions so that you don't get frustrated and decide to stop reading. Okay, so here we go. I'm aware of the fact that Lindsey fought so hard for custody of J.R. and Melanie of course cares so much about Gus that it seems impossible that they would give up on that. Later in the story the real story of what exactly happened with Mel and Linds is revealed and I think that'll help you understand a little more what exactly was going on. And J.R. does remember little things! Just not very much. Mel tried her very best to keep her away from everyone that wasn't necessary. She had to of course meet Michael, he was her father. And along with Michael you get Ben and Hunter and Debbie. Those are all people that J.R. knows very well it's just everyone else she's fuzzy on. The fact that Justin went to PIFA is definitely brought up eventually and Lindsey being artist. All god things come in time. With THAT being said, here's my actual Author's note about the chapter.**

**A/N2: You should know that Gus calls Debbie Grandma just like Hunter and J.R. even though technically she isn't, I feel like that wouldn't matter and Gus would get the same treatment. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Queer as Folk, but it would be cool if I did. **

The entire car ride to Pittsburgh, Jenny had been practically bouncing up and down in her seat and talking a mile a minute. She was far too excited and it was driving Melanie completely crazy. Melanie was already nervous as all hell and it didn't help that Jenny was so damn excited.

"Do you think Hunter will come over and see me? I haven't seen him since last year! Although, I hope he doesn't bring Jade." She shivered, thinking about her brother's fiancée. "She's such a brat, I don't know why Daddy and Ben don't make him break up with her. She's fucking awful."

"J.R.! Watch your mouth! Your father won't let you talk like that, and neither will Grandma Debbie. She'll rip your tongue out. "

Jenny rolled her eyes, "Ugh. Hunter's allowed to say whatever he wants. It's only different with me, because I'm a girl."

"It's different with you because you're the baby." Melanie mumbled before pulling into the Novotny-Bruckner driveway. Melanie sighed a little before looking over at her daughter.

"Here we are. Go get your things out of the trunk will you?"

Jenny was just excited to be able to get out of the car, and stretch her legs. Also, she hadn't been here in years. She was excited to see how much the house had changed in her absence. She was even excited to see the things that _hadn't_ changed. She didn't remember very much but she hoped that they hadn't touched the backyard. From what little she remembered, there used to be a swing set, and it was wide, and open with a little tree that Ben and Michael had planted together. She remembered little moments there with Hunter chasing after her, playing some form of four year old tag, pushing her on the swing set. Had there been another child there too? It was fuzzy, but Jenny was sure that there had been…

"Jenny?" Mel said, staring at her from still inside the car. "Are you okay?"

Jenny tore her gaze away from the house, and then shook her head a little to clear it. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." She sighed a little bit and then turned towards her mother.

"Hurry up!" She said as she hurriedly rushed around to the trunk grabbed her own bag, and rushed up the steps to the door and rang the doorbell three times.

"Mom! Come on!" She said glancing at her mother who was still at the car.

The door opened after a few minutes to reveal her father. Jenny squealed with excitement. "Daddy!" She said wrapping her arms around his middle.

"Hey there!" He said hugging her back and pulling her inside. She squeezed him tightly for a few minutes and then she spotted Ben.

"Hi Ben!" She said just as excitedly, he was standing a little bit behind Michael and she had to duck around a little bit to hug him. He was much taller than Michael. J.R. laughed just because she'd forgotten how tiny her father was compared to Ben.

"Hey, J.R.! " He said with a huge smile on his face. "Here, I'll take your bag, and take it up to your room." He said holding his hand out for it, once they'd finished embracing.

She swung her bag off her shoulder and handed it to him. "Thanks, Ben."

"Hey Mel!" Michael said waving to her mother who was just coming up the steps.

"Hi Michael. " She said sounding weary as she gave him a quick little hug. It was awkward for a few seconds and quiet. Melanie broke the silence quickly though.

"Alright. Well, you've got all her things. And you've got her." She said grabbing her head lightly and kissing the top of her head.

"If you need anything, I'll be staying at the Hyatt. Two blocks from where Babylon used to be."

Michael laughed. "Still is, you mean. Brian re-opened it as Justin's welcome home gift when he got back from New York."

Melanie looked shocked, and then she shook her head. "Justin came back from New York? Christ. When?" She asked.

"Two years after he left. Brian was a mess without him, and they hated going back and forth to see each other. It wasn't working. So, Justin came back. He said that he could paint anywhere. But Brian was only in Pittsburgh. "

Melanie shook her head. "Wow. So everything's the same then? Justin's still in love with Brian, Brian's still an asshole, and Lindsey…?" She trailed off at the end, looking a little pained.

"Again, who is Lindsey?" Said J.R. who'd been listening to the whole conversation, completely confused.

Michael looked down at her and sighed. "Just an old friend." , then he looked back up at her mother. "Melanie." He said her name full of meaning, and some sort of hope. "Were all meeting at the liberty diner later, maybe you should-"

"Christ. Your mother's _still_ running that place?"

Micheal shrugged. "She owns it. But maybe you should come."

"Absolutely not, Michael. And J.R. isn't going either."

"Aw, mom! You're SUCH a buzzkill! I want to go!"

"I knew this was a bad idea." Melanie started and then shook her head. "Listen, she' here to go to school, not to mingle with the in-crowd on liberty avenue. "

"Mel, Come on, she has to meet them eventually, they're family! " Michael said. Melanie opened her mouth to say something else, but Michael was faster. "They miss her, Melanie! They haven't seen her since she was four years old! That isn't fair."

"No. This _clearly _isn't going to work. I'm taking her back to the hotel with me, and we'll go back to Toronto as soon as possible."

"Mom! That's not fair!" Jenny shouted, but then Ben reappeared.

"She can stay home with me, Mel. It's not a big deal. I wasn't going anyway. I was going to stay home and get some work done."

"Bless you, Ben." Jenny said in a thankful voice as Mel sighed.

Melanie looked suspicious, but then she looked down at her daughter's excited face and realized how much she wanted this, so she gave in.

"Alright. But I'm going to call the house tonight at 9:00, Ben Bruckner, and I expect my daughter to answer the phone. "

"Yes, Ma'am" He said giving her a little salute, before she kissed the top of J.R.'s head again.

Mel looked up at Michael shaking her head. "I'm allowing her to stay here. I expect you to respect my wishes. I don't want her seeing ANYONE beside You, Ben, Hunter, and Debbie."

"Mel-"

"Don't push it Michael. I'll take her home right now."

"Yeah, don't push it Michael!" J.R. said through her teeth. She would just die if her mother took her home now. She was so close!

Michael nodded in agreement. "Okay. I'll respect your wishes. "

Melanie breathed a little sigh of relief and then turned to her daughter.

"Be good. Don't get yourself into trouble, and don't be too much of a pest."

"Oh, she could never be a pest, Mel." Michael said with a smile.

"Love you." She said to J.R., "If you need anything-"

"Yeah, yeah, call your cell! I know. I love you too! Now go!" She said impatiently. Melanie sighed again and then with a little wave, got into her car and took off.

Jenny looked at her Dad and Ben, a defiant expression on her face. "I'm going to the diner with you."

Ben smiled. "Look at you, standing up for yourself."

Jenny didn't laugh. "It's not fair. She acts like everyone in Pittsburgh is out to get me or something. I want to meet everyone. I want to go to the diner."

Michael nodded. "Well then I'm taking you to the diner."

Ben nodded. "Yeah. We'll all go. I'm pretty sure Mel thinks my cell phone is the house number anyway."

Jenny smiled a little. "Thank you. I love you both."

Ben grinned, "Now," He said looking over her black pleated skirt, and white long sleeved T-shirt.

"You'll never fit in on Liberty Avenue wearing that. I think we need to call Emmett."

Michael sighed, "Alright, fine, but tell him if he brings anything remotely resembling something Brian would wear, were he a girl, I'll kill him."

* * *

J.R. decided directly upon meeting him, that she liked Emmett, a lot. He called her Baby. Although he called Michael and Ben the same thing, it still made her feel special. She didn't remember a thing about him, but she now had no idea why her mother would want to leave people like THIS for stupid Toronto. He'd come bearing bags and bags of clothes. She ended up having to be a dress-up doll for a few hours, as Ben and Michael looked at each outfit and gave an approval or disapproval. The final consensus had been a black tank top and dark red miniskirt with tights and black patent leather shoes, and a red headband. It took a little convincing to get Michael to approve, "She doesn't look sixteen!" He kept exclaiming, but sooner rather than later, the three of them were crammed into a booth at the liberty diner.

Jenny's eyes were bright with excitement. She'd never been any place like this, with such a brilliant array of different types of people. It was amazing, and she couldn't imagine living anywhere else anymore. Toronto was like a very distant memory.

"Did you see that guy outside? He was dressed up like-"

"A woman?" Emmett cut in. "It happens, baby. This is Liberty Avenue."

J.R. laughed, shaking her head. "No, I've seen _that_ before. But he was dressed up like a hot dog!" She said her laugh increasing.

"Oh. " Ben said in a low voice. "Gus must be working tonight."

"Who's Gus?" J.R. asked curiously.

"The bus boy." Michael said quickly before anyone else had a chance to answer. "Sometimes My mom has him dress up like a hot dog to bring in customers…" His eyes moved around the tiny diner for a while and then he smiled.

"Speaking of…MOM!" Michael called, waving his arms around as if he were flagging down a waiter. A woman that Jenny had only met twice, but who'd sent her a birthday card every single year, made her way towards them, vibrant red wig and PFLAG shirt intact, with a pile of plates on her arm.

"Jesus, Michael what do I look like, some kind of waitress? "

Michael ignored her jab, and then pointed towards J.R.

"I'm presenting to you my beautiful daughter, Ms. Jenny Rebecca."

She gave a little embarrassed smile and managed a little wave.

"Hi Grandma." She mumbled, but then Debbie hurriedly handed her plates off to another waitress and reached across the table to grab her face, planting to great big kisses on each of her cheeks.

"My granddaughter! Look at you! You're gorgeous!"

Jenny blushed and then shrugged a little. "Um. Thank you." She grinned.

And Debbie gushed more. "Oh, and she's so modest! Nothing like you when you were little Michael! You know what? I'm going to whip you up your favorite chocolate chip pancakes. You LOVED those, do you remember when you loved those?"

"Um-"

"Of course you do!"

"You never make me chocolate chip anything. " said a voice that J.R. would know anywhere. She looked up excitedly to see her big brother Hunter. "Hunter!" She exclaimed.

Debbie looked at him and shrugged, "She's cuter than you, and she doesn't have the same mouth." She grabbed his mouth, as she said it and then motioned him to sit down. "Sit down, I'll bring ya a pink plate special." She turned back to J.R. as Hunter slid in next to her.

"I'll be right back! You stay adorable!" she said quickly hurrying off towards the kitchen.

Hunter wrapped an arm around J.R. kissing her forehead. "Hey you! What the hell is up with you not texting me to tell you were coming to town?"

She shoved him playfully. "You never answer my texts anymore. You're too busy with Jade!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh don't be such a little brat, Jade loves you."

J.R. rolled her eyes "Sure she does. And she doesn't just love you for your penis." She gave him a fake smile as everyone else at the table, looked at the girl completely shocked.

"What? " She said staring back at them. "I grew up with Melanie Marcus, you guys are acting like you thought I wouldn't fit in or something."

Everyone laughed except for Michael.

The door to the diner swung up open and in walked three men Jenny was sure she must know from somewhere. The first one was very tall. Brown-haired with flecks of grey throughout but there was something about him. He was definitely what she'd call old-man sexy. The second man was blonde, and he looked relatively young. He had his arms wrapped nicely around the older man and he looked so happy that it didn't seem unnatural. And then there was another man, clearly older than the other two, trailing behind.

"Oh, Jenny, this is Brian, his partner Justin, and Ted." Michael said, introducing each as they walked in and sat down.

"Hi." Jenny said with a smile as they all turned to look at her.

"J.R.? I used to babysit you!" Justin said excitedly leaning in. "Well, you were a really cute baby. You're cute now too. I'd do you."

Michael hit him playfully, and then Brian smiled.

"Mikey, she's a spitting image of you. Just a dab of that pesky Mel."

J.R. blushed. "Actually, people tell me I look a lot like my mom. With soft hints of my Dad."

Brian smiled. "Do they? Well they only tell you that because they know telling you anything else would drive Mel crazy."

Michael sighed. "Brian, would you be nice to her? She's my daughter."

"I am being nice." He said leaning back in his seat, his eyes not leaving her.

"She's beautiful Michael, it's about time she made an appearance here." Ted said with a smile, reaching out to shake her hand. J.R. took it hesitantly, with a smile.

"Is Mel in town too?" Justin asked curiously. Michael nodded.

"She's staying at the Hyatt." He replied.

Jenny was trying hard to remember everyone. She must've met them at least once when she'd been here. There were little flashes in her memory but nothing concrete. A park outing where Brian and Justin were in attendance, playing in the sand box and getting sand in someone's hair…but nothing was sticking.

She didn't have much time to dwell on it though. The boy she 'd seen dressed up like a hot dog, came storming inside, already stepping out of the suit. "I'm not doing this anymore Grandma! It's stupid! And everyone makes fun of me!"

"Serves you right Gus Peterson-Kinney for mouthing off to me and giving your mother hell for the past few months!" She replied to him from behind the kitchen door.

"I did NOT mouth off. I'm twenty for gods sake!" He complained.

"Bullshit! Bring these pancakes to my granddaughter! Hurry up!" She said as he quickly changed out of the hot dog suit and put on his apron, picking up the plate of pancakes and carrying them over to the table. He sat them down in front of her. He hadn't paid much attention to her at all and it was obvious he was planning on going as quickly as possible but then their eyes met.

Gus was very attractive, J.R. really couldn't deny it. He looked like a younger version of the man with grey-flecked hair. He was beautiful. He seemed just as taken with her though, as she was with him.

"There's your pancakes." He said slowly his eyes still not leaving hers.

"Thanks." She said quietly, looking up at him.

"You're Jenny Rebecca then?"

"That would be me." She said softly. "Jenny Rebecca Marcus-Novotny."

"Nice to meet you Jenny Rebecca." He said with a smile.

"Most people, just call me J.R."

"Well then, it's nice to meet you J.R."

Suddenly, J.R. remembered that they were surrounded by people, which included her dad. She blushed as Brian cleared his throat.

"Now, Now sonny boy, you've done your job, now leave the pretty girl alone and get back to work."

"Leave me alone, dad." He mumbled, before walking away from their table. Jenny looked up at Brian.

"He's your son? She asked curiously.

"Yeah." He said an amused smile taking over his face. "That would be the fruit of my loins."

"He looks like you." She said observantly, as a blonde woman who looked flustered made her way through the diner.

"Is Gus here?" She said, stopping at their table, taking off her jacket and scarf.

"Right over there." Brian said pointing towards the kitchen.

"Oh good. If he's working, than I know he's not in trouble. Who's this?" She said looking at J.R. as she took her seat.

"Um. Lindsey, this is J.R. This is Jenny Rebecca." Michael provided.

Lindsey was still for a long moment staring at her. "Oh." She breathing sounding as if she'd just been told they were sitting with the president. " I'm Lindsey."

Jenny blinked up at her. So this was Lindsey. She was pretty. Blonde. Tall. One of those woman that you wanted to look like when you were grew up.

"Nice to meet you." She wanted to add 'finally' at the end, but Lindsey was already acting weird enough so she left out the part where she'd heard her name twice without any explanation, already.

Everyone was silent, as they watched their introduction. Jenny felt uncomfortable, mostly because Lindsey's eyes started to fill with tears, but then she looked away.

"Well this, this is certainly a surprise." She blinked a couple of times, and then the tears disappeared.

"Have you met my son Gus?" She asked absentmindedly.  
Jenny nodded. "He brought me my pancakes."

"Speaking of, Are you going to eat those Baby?" Emmett asked.

She shook her head quickly, pushing the plate towards him. "Go for it. Ben made me a sandwich before we left."

Emmett began eating right away, and everyone laughed.

"Hey Dad?" Jenny asked and Michael looked up at her curiously. "Do you think I could go outside for awhile? I need some fresh air."

"Um…yeah, sure…just uh, don't go too far, and stay on the avenue."

"Of course. Thanks Dad." She said before she slid out of the booth.


	3. Doodles

**A/N: Hi! This story just keeps getting more and more fun to write. I love getting into these characters heads! Anyway. I know it's rough thinking about Brian with grey hair. But it's bound to happen and rather than dying it and denying it like he would've done before Justin perhaps, I feel like he would've embraced it. Owned his old man ness and worked it. But that's just me. Okay, so on to my ranting about this chapter. I read and re-read it to make sure that everything added up. (I hate reading things with plot holes) That being said, there's still some stuff I'd like to explain. Just so I don't give anything away with my explanations. I'm going to go ahead and put ANOTHER A/N at the end of this chapter. Alright. Go for it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Queer as Folk. Not even on DVD.**

It was cold out, and busy. The streets were filled with all sorts of people in colorful outfits, couples , varying from two women, to two men, to a woman and man, trying to keep warm in the cool Pittsburgh night air. J. R. suddenly wished that she'd brought her jacket with her like Ben had suggested. She just couldn't be in the diner anymore. She couldn't have all those people staring at her anymore. It was so unfair. Her mother had pulled her away from everything and everyone who had known and loved her in Pittsburgh. She could feel how much they loved her. How excited they were to have her there, finally. But she felt no affection back, because she didn't know any of them. She didn't remember. It was making her feel a little ill, and like an awful person. She reached into her bag taking out her tiny sketch pad and pencil, sitting down against the brick wall of the diner her knees pulled up and her back pressed against the brick. She flipped the sketchpad open to a blank page and started sketching. Big dark lines, easy strokes. She always started this way and it always turned into something or other eventually.

After several long minutes of just drawing for drawing's sake the sketch started to take form. She was doing a portrait of the attractive man with the flecks of grey in his hair. She couldn't get the image of him and his partner out of her head. They'd seemed so in sync with each other. Like they'd known each other all their lives. She started to sketch arms around the man which would later take the form of his blonde partner, but someone started speaking.

"That's very good." She jumped, dropping her sketchpad to look up. It was the blonde. Justin. The attractive man's other half.

She breathed a sigh of relief, smiling a little. "Thanks. It's just a doodle really." She blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed that she'd been drawing a picture of his boyfriend.

"No…no it's really good. Would you mind if I look?"

She shook her head, no, and he knelt down to pick up her sketchpad, looking the picture over. "You have a lot of talent. Why are you in Pittsburgh?" He said with a little laugh.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to spend time with my dad. And…I'm going to the Pittsburgh institute of fine arts in the fall…so, I thought I'd try living here for awhile first."

"Ah…I went there you know. I'm an artist too."

"Oh, that's right! You went to New York right? You're a painter?" She asked curiously looking up at him.

"Yeah. I paint. I draw. Sculpt. Whatever. Did Mel tell you that?"

She shook her head. "Not really. She doesn't talk about Pittsburgh much. She hates it here. I don't know why. It's been so fun so far. Everyone is so…"

Justin laughed at her loss of words. "Overwhelmingly welcoming?"

She nodded, and then they laughed together.

"Well, if you ever want a few pointers, I'd be happy to help you out. Even with homework or whatever." He said handing her back the sketchpad.

"Thanks. That's really nice of you." She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, before looking back up at him. "Can I ask you something kind of personal?"

"Sure." Justin said, looking at her curiously.

"You….and…Brian is it? How long have you been together?"

Justin smiled, "Depends on what you mean? How long have we been together is different than how long we've been fucking."

J.R. blushed again, shaking her head. "I guess I mean…together together like…boyfriends."

Justin thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "I'd say…about 18 years."

"Christ." Jenny breathed and Justin laughed again.

"Aren't you going to get married like my dad and Ben?"

"Actually, we were planning on it. But, I moved to New York. Lindsey sort of talked me into it."

Jenny looked up sharply at Lindsey's name again. "Can I ask you something else?" She said softly and Justin nodded.

"Well, my mom wouldn't say anything to me about who Lindsey was, but I heard her on the phone with my dad. She said…that she had a grudge against her or something. And I just met her for the first time…and…she looked at me like was going to cry. Did something…did something happen between them?"

Justin stared at her for a long moment and then he ran a hand through his hair. "Aw…Geez J.R…I'm n not sure I'm the person to ask. And if your mom doesn't want you to know…"

J.R. nodded. "Okay, yeah. It's fine. I just thought I'd ask."

Justin looked at her like he really wanted to give her more. But he couldn't.

"Well listen, Anytime you want some art advice…I live with Brian, in a loft about 20 minutes away from your dad's house, so…come over anytime. If I'm not there feel welcome to hang out, ignore whatever Brian says."

She laughed and then nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

He smiled at her before going back inside the diner.

Jenny started sketching again, starting to finish Justin's part in her original portrait, but then another inspiration struck and she flipped the page starting to sketch the pretty blonde woman. Lindsey. And then she began sketching her Mother, her arms around the other woman, smiling. She wondered if this was the reason her mother was so determined not to come back to Pittsburgh.

"Is that my mom?" A voice said and she looked up to find herself face to face with Gus.

Jenny blushed deeply. She really needed to stop drawing pictures of people who's partners and children were wandering around.

"Um. Yeah. She's pretty. She inspired me."

"Are you lesbian?"

Jenny blinked up at him and then shook her head. "Um. No. Although there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian. My mom's one."

Gus nodded. "That's cool. How'd you know my mom used to be one?"

Jenny stared at him waiting for him to elaborate, but it didn't look like he was going to.

"Your mom…_used_ to be a lesbian? Isn't that like…not possible?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess not. My dad says that she can't decide. That she's torn, and that she can't deny dick for too long."

J.R. looked a little shocked. "Your _dad_ says that to you?"

Gus laughed, shrugging. "He's not really the type to hold back anything."

"Your dad's the one with….Justin right?'

Gus nodded. "Yeah." He rolled his eyes a little.

"You don't like him? He seems nice enough." She said curiously.

"He is nice. He's just…_young_." He rolled his eyes again.

J.R. laughed, shrugging. "So…Brian and your mom, they used too…?"

Gus started laughing and then he shook his head. "No. Like I said, she used to be a lesbian. So I was happily artificially inseminated for her and her girlfriend."

"Why'd they choose your dad?" She asked curiously.

He laughed. "Have you seen him?" And then he shrugged. "He and my mom are really good friends. Best friends. Since college or something." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, He popped one into his mouth and lit the end, taking a long drag. He blew out the smoke and then looked at her. "Do you want one?"

J.R. shook her head. "No thanks. I don't really smoke."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen." She said softly.

"You're young." He said, just as a stated fact.

"I'll be seventeen next month."

"Cool. I'll be twenty-one in two months." He said it like it was a very significant age difference.

"You're like…four years older than me. That's nothing."

"Sure. If you're Brian Kinney." He said taking another drag of his Cigarette. "But I fortunately am not."

"But you are a Kinney. He's your dad." She insisted.

"Very observant." He said with a smirk.

"Why do you care how old I am?" She asked in a voice that was filled with curiosity.

He glanced at her, trying to give off a nonchalant appearance.

"A guy can't ask a girl how old she is without being out of line?"

"You think I'm pretty." She said. It was rather bold for her, she didn't do the flirting bit very well. But she was in Pittsburgh, and she was sure that this is how things worked here.

Gus looked over at her giving her a once over. "I think you're gorgeous, but that has nothing to do with the fact that you're young."

J.R. blushed, looking away from him, wanting badly to be able to suddenly take back what she'd said. He was so freaking charming.

"That's pretty." He said absentmindedly.

"What is?" She said looking back up at him.

"That…rose colored blush thing that happens when you're embarrassed. It's pretty. You shouldn't hide it."

J.R. was sure her entire face was bright red now, so she changed the subject quickly.

"So your mom…she's with a guy now?"

Gus's face darkened. "Yeah. Some prick named Dave. He lives with us."

"You don't like him?" She asked, staring up at him.

Gus looked down at her, "Would you like someone who hated you?"

J.R. shook her head. "Guess not."

They were both silent for a moment and J.R. watched him blow smoke out, and try to make designs.

"Do you remember her? Your mom's ex-girlfriend?"

Gus didn't reply for awhile, he just kept taking drags of his Cigarette. J.R. had started to think that he wasn't going to answer, but then he turned to her with a serious expression.

" Little things. I remember another woman in the house. I remember calling her mommy sometimes. I don't remember anything specific. My mom won't really talk about her." He paused for a few moments his eyes skyward. "I remember that she loved me. I remember fighting. Lots of yelling that I couldn't figure out…Sometimes, I think I remember things…but I'm not sure if I made them up or not. Once, I thought I had a little sister." He shrugged. "I asked my mom about it though. She said it was always just me." He smiled a little. "I think maybe I just really wanted a sibling."

"What happened to her?" J.R. asked curiously.

Gus shrugged. "I have no idea. I just know she's not around anymore."

They were both silent again for awhile, and then Gus said.

"Do you wanna go out? Like, to a club or something? My dad owns about three on this strip. I get in for free."

Jenny shrugged. "I've never really been to a club before. Is it fun?"

Gus laughed. "Oh…it's _killer._" He said with a little roll of his eyes. "It passes the time. Do you wanna go?"

"Yeah…Yeah, I wanna go." She said with a smile, stuffing her sketchpad back into her bag. "Just let me tell my dad?"

He raised a brow at her. "Now why would you want to go and do a thing like that?"

She looked up at him. "Because…I don't' want him to worry."

He laughed, shaking his head. "You're a teenager. They're supposed to spend half their time worrying about you and the other half trying to figure out if you're doing drugs and hanging out with the wrong crowd."

Jenny looked at him, and then looked towards the door to the diner. She couldn't even imagine the kind of trouble she'd be in if she left without telling anyone.

"I can't…he'll let me go. Just..let me ask." She said biting down on her lip.

Gus shrugged. "Well, I'm going now…so…" He dropped the cigarette and ground it with his foot, and then started to walk away slowly backwards so that he could still look at her.

"You can come with me, or you can stay here, sitting in the cold, drawing pictures of people you don't really know."

She glanced at the door and then back up at him, and then took off at a little run.

` "No wait. I'm coming." She said jogging a little to keep up with him.

**A/N: I definitely talk too much. Anyway, before you castrate me for saying Lindsey USED to be a lesbian, in my head, After Melanie, Lindsey just got really confused. And I know after she slept with that art buyer she said it just re-affirmed her knowledge that she was a lesbian and that she loved Melanie. But I always thought of Lindsey as a really confused character. That's why I love her so much. She has so many different facets and she has awesome character depth. But I always sort of thought that Lindsey doesn't really know who she is. So I imagine she's just broken up with the love of her life. She's raising Brian Kinney's son on her own and then Dave came along. That relationship is explained in further depth later also. So that's my Lindsey 'used to be a lesbian' shpeal. What else should I address? Oh! Yes, Jenny has put two and two together and figured out that Lindsey and Melanie have had a past, but she doesn't think that it has anything to do with her and Gus. She was never told she had a brother. And Gus was never told he had a sister. So J.R. thinks that Melanie and Lindsey must've dated for awhile, broke up far before Gus and J.R were even thought of. J.R. does not think that Melanie is the ex-girlfriend her and Gus talk about. I think that's all. Anyways. Review! They keep me going, and of course I'll answer any questions. **


	4. Babylon

**Disclaimer: I really don't own Queer as Folk. **

**A/N: Daphne works for Brian. She's the club manager at Babylon. **

It didn't take long for Michael to be practically staring at the door. Every person who came through it that wasn't J.R. made Michael worry just a little bit more. Jenny had been outside for at least a half hour. Someone should go check on her.

"I should go check-"

"She's fine Michael. She's just over-whelmed." Ben said for about the fiftieth time. "We don't want to smother her."

Justin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I was out there for a little bit. She's just drawing. She probably just got lost in her art. Lost track of the time. It happens to me all the time. She'll come in when she's ready."

Michael still looked worried, still staring at the door. Hunter eventually stood up rolling his eyes.

"Jesus, I'll go check on her. You guys are ridiculous."

"Thanks Hunter." Michael said with a sigh of relief. Ben wrapped an arm around him. "You're such a good dad." He said softly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"I just want her to be happy here. And I want Mel to see that I can take care of her. You know, I'm not useless."

"You're not?" Brian said with fake amazement, and then he laughed. Michael rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." Michael said reaching across the table to try and smack him.

Hunter came back in then, and Michael looked up at him with a smile.

"Where's J.R.?"

"Okay. Don't freak out. But she's not out there." Hunter said, his face a slate of seriousness.

"Excuse me?" Michael said, looking like if Hunter repeated himself he might explode.

"She's…not out there. I looked everywhere. I even called her name a few times. She's not there."

Michael stared up at him for a few moments, before he really started to panic. "Where the FUCK could she have gone? She doesn't live here! She has no idea where anything is! Oh my GOD, Mel's going to KILL me!"

He stood up, shaking his head. "We have to go. We have to go find her now!"

Ben stood up, placing his hands on his shoulder. "Michael. It's okay. We'll find her. She can't have gone far. Just get your coat on, we'll go look for her now, it'll be fine Michael."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "No, it's cool. Stay put. I'll just text her. She always replies." He said already pulling out his cell phone.

"Where are you…?" He said out loud as he typed in 'Where R U?'. "Alright," He said sliding his phone back into his pocket. "She'll reply in a few minutes.

Michael sat back down, still practically hyperventilating. "And what if she doesn't?"

"Then we'll send the search parties. It'll be fine."

Lindsey, who had been leaning over the counter speaking with Deb in hushed voices, came back over to their booth at this point.

"Hunter, was Gus outside?"

Hunter shrugged. "I didn't see him. But I wasn't really looking for him. Why, what's up?"

Lindsey sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Well, Debbie says his shift isn't over and yet, he's disappeared."

Brian started laughing and everyone turned to look at him.

"Oh come on, two missing teenagers?" Everyone continued to stare at him, with blank faces.

"Alright Mikey, Hold your breath. You can beat me up later for saying this. Now everyone listen closely." He held up one of his hands. "One of the missing teenagers is a very hot sixteen year old girl, the other," He raised his other hand. "Is a boy who's been raised by yours truly and you think they're what? In separate places NOT necking behind a trash can?" Brian laughed again.

Justin looked at him and then ran a hand down his face. "Jesus CHRIST, Brian, you can't be saying what I think you're saying. That's ridiculous."

"J.R. and Gus?" Ted asked, shaking his head. "No way. They know better."

Lindsey's eyes were wide with horror as she shook her head. "No. They really don't. They know nothing about each other."

Brian laughed again, shaking his head. "I told you, you should've told him he had a fucking sister."

* * *

"Babylon?" J.R. asked as they walked down the street towards the club. "Well that's sort of a dumb name. Aren't nightclubs supposed to have really evasive names like Dare or Passion or something? Like on Sex and the City."

Gus stopped walking to look back at her. "You still watch sex and the city? Christ. You're definitely a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said having to practically jump every couple of steps to keep up with him.

"Nothing. And yes. It's just Babylon. It's a gay club. My dad owns it." He said and then quite suddenly he stopped walking. "Here it is, in all its glory."

J.R. looked up and found herself looking up at quite possibly the largest building on the street. It was huge, and there were even big flashing lights. And a giant neon sign that read Babylon. The line to get in was huge. Jenny's heart sank.

"We'll never get in." She said in a sad little voice. Gus laughed, and rolled his eyes. "Did I not just tell you that my dad _owns_ this place? Come on." He said taking her hand and dragging her to the front of the line.

"Daphne!" He called to a pretty exotic looking girl with a clipboard and a headset standing next to the bouncer at the front of the entrance line. She turned to look at them, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hey Gus! Where's everyone else?" She asked, looking behind him, her eyes glossing over the girl still holding on to his hand.

"They're all at the diner. Do you think we can get in right now?" He said, giving her the full puppy dog expression.

"Who's we?" She said finally noticing Jenny.

She smiled at her, and held out a hand. "I'm J.R." She said.

"Oh! I used to babysit you!" She said taking her hand and shaking it. "You're so old! Oh gosh, that must mean, I'm old." She shivered, like the thought gave her chills. "Anyway, yeah, go on in, but stay away from the backroom. Both of you. I mean it. And DON'T take anything that's handed into you in a plastic bag."

Gus took her hand and led her inside, the pulsing beat of the music, was sort of making her feel sick. She leaned in, pressing herself against Gus' back, and leaned up a little to reach his ear so that she wouldn't have to yell. "Can we get something to drink?"

"Sure!" He yelled back at her. "Alcoholic only. Water's over-rated."

Jenny felt like giggling. She would've never done anything this cool in Toronto. He led her over to the bar.

"Hey Jeanette! Jeanette!" He said as a young blonde girl promptly ignored him in order to serve drink s to a few people across the bar.

"Jeanette!" He said again and she finally looked over at him. "I'm not allowed to SERVE you Gus, I told you. Lindsey came in here and ripped me a new one last week. She told me I could get fired."

Gus flashed that puppy dog expression that J.R. noticed he used a lot. "Aw come on, I won't tell I swear. It'll be our secret."

Jeanette rolled her eyes. "ONE drink, Gus, I mean it."

"How about two? I brought a friend with me." He said pulling J.R. closer. Their hands were still attached.

Jeanette looked her over and then shook her head. "Gus, she looks fifteen. I can't serve her AND you."

"Aw come on, it's Mikey's kid."

Jeanette looked back over at her and then sighed. "Alright, fine. Two drinks. " She went to the other side of the bar mixing up two alcoholic concoctions in two cups with ice, and then slid them over to Gus. "Thanks!" He shouted at her, and then handed one of the drinks to J.R.

"So what do you think?" He asked taking a big gulp of his.

"It's fun…" She said loudly over the music. "Loud."

Gus laughed, and took another huge gulp, and then another until his drink was all gone.

J.R. looked down at her own, and then held it out towards him. "Do you want it?"

Gus raised a brow. "Nah. It's yours. You wanted a drink didn't you?"

"I was thinking like…water or soda." She said in a little embarrassed voice.

"Try it. There's water in it somewhere."

Jenny sighed, and then took a gulp. It tasted disgusting. "Ew." She said softly, and Gus laughed.

"Do you wanna dance?"

"I don't know how." She said nervously, and he shook his head.

"It's easy, come on I'll show you." He said. She smiled a little and then sat her drank down on the bar. He didn't waste any time pulling her on to the dance floor. He used his hands to hold her hips and stood behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Okay, close your eyes." He whispered, and she did so.

"Listen." He paused for a moment, and she listened, trying to let the music wash over her.

"Do you feel that? That thumpa-thumpa? Just pay attention to that, nothing else. Let it move your body." He whispered as he began he lightly guided her hips with his hands. She eventually got the hang of it though, and managed it it on her own, and then he pulled back, just watching her.

"Who says you can't dance?"

J.R. opened her eyes to look at him. "What?"

"Nothing…Just…you look really good doing that, that's all." He smiled at her and she smiled back.

J.R. ran one hand through her hair as he placed his hands back on her hips swaying with her to the 'thumpa-thumpa'

"That's it!" Gus said, moving with her. "Play with it a little."

Then the song changed and the club was filled with Madonna's 'Vogue.' Something she'd heard a thousand times.

She started moving wildly, her hips had a mind of their own. And she was suddenly holding her hair up in what would've been a ponytail so that it wouldn't be drenched completely with sweat. She was aware that Gus was behind her somewhere, holding her against him. She liked it though. She liked him.

She turned around to face him, dropping her hair, looking at him with a huge smile. "I love this song!" She draped one arm over his shoulder as she mouthed the words 'Come on, Vogue.' Gus laughed at her, shaking his head. 'Let your body move to the music." She swayed first right and then left, then brought her gaze back up to meet his then, and mouthed the words 'Come on, Vogue' again, but this time she only got half way through the word 'vogue' And then suddenly she wasn't mouthing anything, because her lips were suddenly occupied by another pair of lips.

Gus had crushed his lips against hers and suddenly, they were kissing. It happened to be J.R.'s very first one. She wasn't sure how, but she found that naturally her body knew what to do. She leaned into it, wrapping her arms around his neck. His lips were soft against hers, and he seemed to really know what he was doing. She wondered for a second how many girls he did this with, but she didn't linger on it. Did it really matter? She pulled away after a moment or two, staring into his eyes for a long moment, not sure what to say.

"J.R.," He leaned into whisper in her ar. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met." She shivered at the words and then she looked up at him shaking her head. "Then why are you wasting time talking?"

He smiled, before leaning back down to kiss her again.

* * *

Daphne Chanders wasn't exactly sure what she was seeing. She stood leaning against the bar staring at the two teenagers. It would've been perfectly normal, stuff like this happened all the time at Babylon and especially with Gus. But this was different. This was Gus and Jenny Rebecca. When Brian had made her official club manager, he'd given her only two rules. The gang was allowed in for free whenever they wanted, Gus too as long as he wasn't served and if Gus got into any trouble at all, to call Lindsey, or if it was really bad, call him. Did this constitute as trouble? And if so, how bad? Lindsey bad? Or Brian Bad? She watched as Gus whispered something into Jenny's ear and then pulled her off the dance floor, she tried to follow them with her eyes, but they'd already disappeared. She sighed, slipping off her headset and pulling out her cell phone.

Speed Dial 1. Justin Taylor. She listened to the phone ring for a few moments and then Justin's familiar voice filled her ear.

"Hey Daph, what's up?"

"Justin. Hi…I have to tell you something, and I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to say it."

Justin sighed, sounding exasperated and like the day couldn't possibly get any worse. "Alright. What's going on? Aren't you working right now?"

"Yeah. I am…" She paused for a moment and then, took a deep breath and went for the plunge. "Is everyone else aware that Gus and J.R. are an item?"

The other end of the phone was silent. Daphne started to get worried. "Justin?"

"What do you mean?" He said, in a voice that she recognized. The one that said he was worried about Brian's reaction.

"Well he asked if he and J.R. could come in, I said yes of course, and I just saw them out on the dance floor…and let's just say that they put you and Brian to shame."

"Oh god." Justin let out.

"I didn't know what to do. So I thought I'd call you." She said in an unsure voice.

"Thanks, Daph, are they still there?"

She sighed, wishing she could give a different answer than the one she had. "I don't know. They disappeared off the dance floor. They could be anywhere."

"Damn it. I thought at least I could calm Michael down."

"Michael's upset?" She asked curiously.

Justin scoffed. "Of course he's upset. J.R just took off from the diner without telling anyone where she was going. "

"Well, she looked okay…a little flushed, but she was dancing."

Justin laughed a little, "I'll be sure to tell him. Thanks again, Daph."

"No problem. Call me when everything's resolved?"

"Of course." Justin said before snapping his phone shut.


	5. Missed Calls

**Disclaimer: I don't own Queer as Folk. If I did, I would've petetioned for a couple more seasons and would've let Justin and Brian get married. **

Gus opened a door and soon they were blasted with cold night air, but it felt so good. Dancing really made you hot. In the literal sense.

"That was so much fun!" Jenny exclaimed, spinning outward a little, with a giggle.

"I told you it would be." Gus said, wrapping his arms and pulling her in. "I've never met anyone like you."

Jenny laughed. "Actually, you said it would pass the time." She made a face up at him, and he rolled his eyes a little.

"I'm really not all that brilliant. I don't get it. What are you seeing in me that's so special?" She asked, a curious expression taking of her face.

Gus watched her for a moment, his face taking on a serious expression. "You get it."

"Get what?" She said her eyes searching his face, trying to understand what he meant.

"You get…not really knowing who you are. You get not being sure of yourself. You…know what it's like to have a mom and a dad who are just friends and have never been anything more. You get what it's like to try and explain that to people. You…" He shrugged a little, not sure how to say the rest, and then he smiled. "Not to mention, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I don't know…I just feel like…"

J.R. smiled. "Like you've known me forever? Yeah. I feel it too."

Gus smiled, pressing his forehead against hers. "I'm glad."

Jenny leaned up to kiss him again, but then she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket.

"Hold that thought." She said pulling away a little, and digging into her pocket for her cell phone.

13 missed calls. 10 text messages. 4 voicemails.

"Shit." She mumbled, immediately going through her text messages.

Hunter: Where R U?

Hunter: Where R U?

Hunter: Ur in SO much trouble. Where the fuck are you?

Hunter: You need to call Michael before he has an aneurism.

"Shit." Jenny said ignoring the other text messages and going to check her voicemail.

"What's wrong?" Gus asked, but she shook her head, at him, listening intently. "Four new voicemails." The automated voice said. "First new voice mail." Jenny cringed as she heard her father's voice.

"Jenny Rebecca! What the FUCK are you doing? Why haven't you called? You are in SO much fucking trouble! Get your ASS home, right NOW!" Jenny snapped her phone shut.

"Oh my god, I have to go." She said, looking up at Gus. "My dad's freaking out. If he calls my mom I'm so screwed!" She said hurriedly moved to turn around and start running.

Gus grabbed her arm though, "Wait! You can't just run off, when am I gonna see you again? This isn't fairytale. You're not going to leave a shoe behind."

Jenny stopped, and although she was panic, she managed a smile. She reached over and into his pocket and took out his cell phone.  
"Okay. This is my number." She said punching it in. "Granted I'm not grounded, You can call me. Okay? " She leaned up to kiss his cheek, turning to leave again.

"Wait!" He said again, still holding on to her arm. "Do you even know how to get home from here?"

"No, but I know how to catch a cab." She said, placing her hand on his cheek. "I'll be fine."

"I just…I don't want to let you go off on your own. Let me drive you. My car's back at the diner but-"

"No. It's fine. Honestly! Thank you though. I'll see you later! Bye!" She said before taking off at a run.

* * *

J.R. was pretty sure that the cab driver had ripped her off. He'd asked for far too much money but she hadn't had time to argue with him. She just threw a wad of cash at him and dashed out of the car. She ran up to the front door, but she found herself frozen. She couldn't go in. She'd be walking straight into an ambush. She peered over at the window and noticed that all the lights were on. So her hopeful theory that Michael and Ben had just gone to bed, was out. She pulled her key out of her bag and fumbled with it for a few minutes, but before she could even fit it into the lock the door swung open.

"Jenny!" She recognized the voice immediately as her father's. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Jesus Christ. Where the hell were you?" He sounded more relieved than mad. Maybe she could play with that.

"I'm sorry, I just lost of track of time. I didn't think we were going that far…I'm really sorry." She said as she hugged him back.

"Well get in here." Michael said pulling her inside. She blinked in confusion as she stepped into the bright living room. Everyone she'd met at the diner was in their living room. Brian and Justin were sitting together on a chair. Brian in the actual chair part, and Justin sitting on the arm of it. Lindsey was there too, sitting next to Emmett and Ted on the couch. Ben was standing behind the couch with Hunter. Noticeably missing was Debbie. J.R. couldn't help but breathe a little sigh of relief at that. Debbie would've made a much bigger deal out of this than it was. Everyone was staring at her as though she was the dead come back to life.

"Did somebody die?" She said with a nervous little laugh. Had everyone really over-reacted this much? She couldn't have been gone more than an hour or two…

"What. Happened." Michael asked her as everyone else continued to stare.

She blew out a little breath, and then shrugged. "I was just hanging out with Gus. That's all. We went to Babylon."

Justin groaned, like that had been the wrong thing to say. J.R.'s stomach sank a little, Brian was laughing though, and he couldn't keep the smirk off his face, it seemed.

"What?" She asked, tentatively

"We know you were at Babylon." Ben said sounding a little apprehensive about what would happen next.

"Okay, well then if you knew, why were you having a panic attack about it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Justin's friend Daphne called." Michael provided.

"The club manager?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah. She said she saw you and Gus. Kissing."

J.R.'s heart started pounding hard in her chest. And her stomach did a flip-flop. She was sure her cheeks were a flaming bright red. She'd never felt more embarrassed in her life. She took a couple of deep breaths and then shrugged, putting on a brave face.

"So I kissed a boy. Sue me. It's not the end of the world. I'm sixteen. It was bound to happen eventually."

Hunter scoffed shaking his head. "Little prick, I'm going to fucking kill him."

J.R. rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid Hunter. I'm allowed to kiss. Hell, I'm even allowed to fuck if I want to!"

Brian laughed. "You sure this is YOUR Kid Mikey?"

"J.R., This is not the time to do your teenage rebellion thing." Michael scolded.

She rolled her eyes. "This isn't teenage rebellion, this is me KISSING a boy. And that was all it was. A kiss. Maybe two. And we _danced_. Can someone please inform me WHY I'm facing the Spanish inquisition about it?"

Michael turned to look at Lindsey who had gone completely pale. "We have to tell her." He said in a quiet voice.

"Melanie will kill us." She replied under her breath, but Michael just shrugged. "We have too. We can't keep lying to her. She deserves to know. And so does Gus."

Lindsey sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I don't even know where Gus IS. Most of the time he doesn't even come him till three or four in the morning." She shrugged. "And if I call him he won't answer the phone-"

"I'll call him." J.R. interrupted. "He'll answer for me. I know he will." Michael and Lindsey both turned to look at her, and then Michael nodded.

"Well call him. Get him here. And then Lindsey and I will tell you everything."


	6. Secrets&Lies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Queer as Folk. As you know. **

Gus didn't like the sound of J.R.'s voice. She sounded worried. Scared. It freaked him out.

"Hey, Listen." He said quietly into the phone. "It'll be okay. Whatever it is. We'll deal with it together."

He could hear her sigh on the other end of the phone, but she didn't say anything. "Just relax. I'll be there asap."

"Okay. " She said softly before hanging up the phone. Gus closed his phone and then his eyes and leaned against the brick wall, outside of Babylon. He was pretty sure that J.R. was everything he needed and he couldn't help but feel like that was all about to fall apart. He'd never met anyone like J.R. She was smart, and talented, and funny, and she was beautiful, but not just generically beautiful. She was that special kind of beautiful that shone so bright it almost blinded you. Because she didn't realize she was beautiful. Sure, he was no stranger to girls. He'd been dating since he was thirteen years old, and having sex since he was fifteen. He couldn't deny that he had inherited several things from his father. Those were just a couple. He was good-looking and he knew it. He could have sex with pretty much anyone he wanted and he knew that too, and he didn't care what anybody thought about him.

Initially when he'd seen J.R. in the diner, he'd thought they'd have sex at the very least. But he'd never imagined that he'd actually like spending time with her. He had no interest in disappearing into the depths of the backroom with her, and fucking her senseless. Well, he had an interest in it. He just didn't care if it happened now, or three years from now, as long as he got to spend time with her in between. As long as he got to see that pretty blush creep up on her cheeks. Hear her laugh. She had a way of making him forget. The entire time he was with her he was able to forget about his mother and her stupid boyfriend Dave. Forget about everything. And now, this girl was upset. And he felt like he was going to fall apart because of that. But he kept himself together as he drove to Michael's house. He had to. For J.R. It took him fifteen minutes to get there, and then he was racing up the steps towards the door, knocking insistently.

The door swung open and his mother stood there, looking teary-eyed like she always did as of late. He rolled his eyes and then pushed past her. "What's going on? Is J.R. okay?"

Lindsey sighed, closing the door behind him. "Jenny is fine. She's in the living room with Michael."

That's all Gus needed to hear. He hurried into the living room. Upon seeing her he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. "Hi." He breathed, holding her tight against him for a second.

"Hi." She whispered back, and then he moved so that he was just sitting next to her. He took her hand in his holding it tight.

"It's going to be fine." He reassured her, as he watched Lindsey re-enter the room and stand next to Michael in front of them.

"Jenny, do you remember what Mel and I used to tell you about why you're here?" Michael asked her and she smiled a little as if remembering something very distant.

"Just that…Mommy really wanted a child so she asked her good friend Michael for help."

Michael nodded. "That was true. Only…" He glanced sideways at Lindsey. "I wasn't just doing your mom a favor. I was doing her _and _Lindsey. They were going to be your _moms_."

J.R.'s eyes flicked up to look at him like he'd just told her she had cancer. "Like…my moms together? Plural?" Her eyes moved from Michael to Lindsey and back again. Gus tightened his hold on her hand.

It was Lindsey who replied this time. "Yes. And I was so excited. We already had Gus and you were just going to completely our fam-"

Gus cut her off. "You said I didn't have a sister. You said that. You said I never had a sister."

Lindsey looked like she was going to start crying and never stop. "I had to say that…I didn't know if you would ever meet her, I thought it would hurt more if I told you. Gus, I'm so-"

"Don't say you're sorry mom. You say it so often that it doesn't even mean anything anymore."

"What the fuck are you saying exactly?" J.R. questioned, and then Lindsey sniffed back tears.

"That technically you're brother and sister."

* * *

J.R. felt like she was going to throw-up. The hand that was intertwined with her own had been comforting at some point, but now all she felt was very, very, sick. She dropped his hand, shaking her head several times.

"Oh my god. You can't be serious right now!" Michael and Lindsey didn't retract anything that they were saying. She risked a glance up at Gus, but he wasn't looking at her. He was staring at his mother with a look of pure venom.

"This is why my mom didn't want me here, isn't it? She doesn't want me to know…Oh my GOD." She shook her head, running her hands through her hair. "WHY! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You're mother didn't want you to know. You were all the way in Toronto-"

"You're my FATHER! You could've told me! You could've told me I had a brother! " She was standing now screaming in his face. Michael was completely taken aback. Jenny had never been this angry with him before. Ever.

"I know. I know. I should've told you." He nodded at her. Jenny shook her head. "I can't…even…" She bit down on her lip and turned away from him.

"She should've told me. You should've told me. Someone should've fucking told me."

Michael sighed, "Listen, I know you're upset. You have every right to be. But would you allow us to finish the story?"

J.R shrugged. "I guess I don't really have a choice."

Michael looked at Lindsey motioning for her to finish story-telling.

Lindsey took a deep breath. "Melanie and I were together for 5 years before we had Gus. And we loved each other very much. We asked Brian for help in creating Gus, and I gave birth to him. We were so excited. So happy." She looked at Gus with a little smile. "You were so perfect."

Gus shook his head, looking like he was going to be sick. "We got married a year after that." She smiled a little. "Mel and I had our ups and downs. But we really were in love." She whispered it like it was some truth she hated telling. "Mel and I both wanted another kid. I convinced her to carry this time. We asked Michael. He agreed. We had J.R." Her eyes lingered over J.R. for a long moment and then she sighed a little.

"I…stupidly messed up Mel and I's relationship. I cheated."

Gus scoffed, shaking his head. "Of course you did."

Lindsey winced, but she continued. "I cheated and she couldn't forgive me. Things changed though, and we ended up back together. And we moved to Toronto."

Gus's eyes widened. "Oh my god. I fucking remember that. You said it was a vacation."

Lindsey sniffed a little. "Well, we only lived there for nine months…"

"You're SUCH a fucking liar."

Lindsey closed his eyes. "I hated Toronto. I missed everyone. I wanted to come back to Pittsburgh. So I did. I took my son, and I got the hell out of Toronto."

J.R. looked up at her. "So you just abandoned me? You left, and you tore our family apart. And you…abandoned me."

Lindsey stared at her. She had nothing to say. She couldn't say anything.

J.R. sat down on the couch again, but she was a good distance away from Gus this time. Everyone in the room was silent now. The air was thick with hurt, and pain and it made J.R. feel sicker. After a couple of minutes, Michael started speaking.

"J.R.? Are you okay? What do you need?"

She shook her head slowly. "I need to go home. I want to go home. My mom was right. I should've never come here. I'm calling her. I'm going to go stay with her at the hotel. I can't deal with any of this. I just can't." She got up quickly and crossed the house to get to her bedroom. She shut the door quietly and then sat down on the bed with her cell phone in her hand. She was practically shaking. She really couldn't believe any of this. She was still processing everything; she didn't even have the strength to dial the number of the hotel. She heard voices from the living room again and she strained to listen.

The first voice was Lindsey. "Gus? Sweetheart? I'm so sorry. I should've told you, I know. I'm SO sorry-"

"Mom! Shut the FUCK up!" He screamed at her, "Do you have ANY idea what you've done? I KISSED my fucking SISTER tonight! Does that even…register? You just DON'T get it."

"Gus, please! You have to understand, things between Mel and me…they weren't good, things are much better this way."

Gus let out a little bitter laugh. "I'm sure they are, mom. And why were things so bad? Because YOU cheated, because YOU fucked up like you always do?"

Michael interrupted then, "Gus, calm down. She's still your mother; you can't talk to her like that."

"Oh please, she hasn't acted like my mother since I was fifteen." There was a sound of passing footsteps and then a little muffled cry.

"Gus, please. Where are you going?"

"To the one person who I know won't lie to me." A slam of a door and then silence.

"Where's he going?" She heard Michael ask quietly.

"Where else?" Lindsey said softly. "Brian's."

J.R. settled back against her pillows, pulling the blanket up over herself. She was still fully clothed, but she didn't have the strength to change. She wanted to sleep for the rest of forever. And then when forever was over, she wanted to go home. She just wasn't sure what to say her to mother yet. So she put off calling until the morning. She placed her cell phone on the nightstand and then turned the knob to off the lamp. She was asleep within minutes.

**A/N: I really happen to like this chapter. And Both Gus and J.R. STILL don't know the whole truth. Insane. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what was coming up. And what you're in for. Get ready for Melanie actually coming into all of this. And some crazy other drama unfolding. I'm excited. And as always please review!**


	7. False Memories

**Disclaimer: I don't own Queer as Folk. I just like to play with the characters. **

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Here it is and all it's glory. Chapter 7. As always, please review!**

Gus had been banging on the door for at least ten minutes. He knew he was home. His stupid car was parked outside.

"Dad! It's me! Open the fucking door!" He screamed as he continued to bang on it. A couple minutes later he heard footsteps from inside.

"Keep your fucking pants on. I'm coming!"

Brian answered the door, in a pair of jeans. He was barefoot and sans T- shirt. Gus blinked up at him for a few minutes and then shrugged a little.

"Sorry. Were you asleep?" He questioned, but his father only smirked.

"Not quite."

Only then did Gus notice Justin a little ways behind his father hurriedly trying to pull on a pair of pants. Gus rolled his eyes. It was absolutely ridiculous the amount of sex they had. It was a little embarrassing to be honest. You would hardly think that Brian was a father at all, with the way he acted.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Gus asked, in a voice that said he wasn't going to offer up why.

Brian raised a brow at him, staring him down for a few minutes. "Why? Lindsey piss you off again?"

Gus scoffed, shrugging. "You could say that."

"You can stay here. But you have to tell me what the fuck is going on."

He sighed a little bit, but nodded, because his other choice was to go home, and that wasn't an option. He pushed past his father, throwing his bag on the couch, and getting comfortable.

"Hi Gus." Justin said, walking out towards the couch. Gus nodded a greeting at him, before, sprawling out and getting comfortable on the couch.

"Alright. Since you're going to be eating my food and sleeping on my couch and ruining my chances of getting laid for the night…" Brian said, making his way around the couch and leaning over the back of it. "…Why don't you tell me why?"

Gus rolled her eyes. "What, you don't already know? My wonderful mother didn't tell you?"

Brian sighed, running a hand through his hair, shrugged. "Is this about your _sister_?"

Gus shivered. "Ugh. Don't make me vomit. Can we just call her J.R.?"

Brian nodded. "Sure. Doesn't make much of a difference to me."

Gus leaned back against the arm of the couch, blowing his bangs out of his face. "She should've told me."

Brian nodded in agreement. "Of course she should have. But she didn't. So now what are we going to do about it?"

Gus looked up at him, and then he shrugged. "Well, I was planning on wallowing in my self misery and then resenting my mother a little more."

Brian let out a little disgust noise. "Have I taught you NOTHING?" He shook his head, taking a deep breath. "What is that going to do? Nothing, but make you look like an immature child. You have to DEAL with this."

Gus sat up then, looking his father directly in the eye. "What would you know about it? You've never dealt with anything a day in your life. You just make sarcastic comments about everything and turn everything into a big fucking Joke! Well, guess what Dad? This isn't a joke!"

Brian stared at him, and then he looked up exchanging a look with Justin and then he shook his head.

"I know it's not a joke." He closed his eyes for a minute.

"_You_ should've told me, at least. I thought you'd never lie to me." Gus said in a low voice.

Brian raised a brow. "I didn't lie to you. You never asked me directly. But if you had, I would've told you the truth. You're my son. I don't lie to you. Never have."

Gus nodded a little bit, because he knew that much. It was why he was here and not at home with Lindsey and Dave.

"Listen, how do you feel about this girl?" Brian questioned.

Gus looked at him, frowning a little. "J.R.? I think…." He closed his eyes. "I think she's amazing. But none of that _matters_ now. Because she's my sister."

"Is she?" Brian questioned tilting his head a little. "I'm assuming you're aware that Lindsey is your mother. I am your father, but _Melanie and Michael are _J.R.'s parents. You have no relation to them. You have no relation to her. And you can thank me for that by the way. "

Gus blinked after a few minutes. "Yeah, but-"

"You have no relation to her blood. If you want her. You can have her."

Gus shook his head. "But…Mom…she used to …she was _together_ with J.R.'s mom. They lived together. We…We were a family. And…And I'm starting to remember stuff."

Brian raised a brow, mouth opening slightly. "Like what?"

"Little things. I don't know." He shrugged. "It all seems like a long lost dream. I thought it wasn't _real_ for so long. I remember Toronto. I remember…her. I remember having a little sister. I think I remember Melanie too. I just didn't know that was her name. Or that she had a daughter." He shook his head. "And now that I remember. I'm angry. I'm _pissed_. She abandoned me."

Brian watched his son curiously for a few minutes and then he shrugged. "The point is, you were _supposed_ to be brother and sister. But you aren't. And you don't have to see Mel ever again if you don't want. Although, you'll regret it."

Justin stood up then, walking over to Brian raising a brow. "Are you telling him to pursue a relationship with his sister?"

"_Would-be_ sister. And no. I'm just teaching my son to get what he wants." He pulled Justin into him by the waist. "I did."

Justin rolled his eyes a little, but then leaned up to kiss his cheek, and then his lips. "So did I."

Gus made a retching sound and then Brian and Justin turned towards him. "Sorry, sonny boy." He said ruffling Justin's hair before pushing him away a little.

"Now tell me something else…" He said, looking at him with a serious expression. "What's been going on with you?"

Gus looked up at him, shrugging a little. "I don't know what you mean."

"You know _exactly_ what I mean. "

Gus rolled his eyes a little. "Nothing's been going on with me. I just don't like being at home. So I stay out at night."

"What's wrong with home?" Brian questioned, eyebrow raised.

"Dave's there."

"Ah. Dave." Brian said, a little smirk taking over his face. "Maybe if you had been around more, taken care of Linds, like I asked you to do, she wouldn't have found Dave."

"I was fourteen. What the fuck was I supposed to do? She's my mother. She's supposed to take care of me." He said, anger lacing his tone.

"Doesn't always work that way. She needed you. You bailed. You got Dave. You have to deal with that too. You can't just run away from absolutely everything. It's immature. You're twenty years old, Gus. Man up."

"Why didn't you take care of her? You're her best friend."

"She didn't need me. She needed you. " They were both silent for a few moments, and then Justin spoke up.

" Well I think it's all sort of romantic."

Brian raised a brow at him. "The fact that Lindsey doesn't know how to take care of herself…or…who she is for that matter?"

Justin shook his head. "No. Gus and J.R. It's practically Romeo and Juliet. Two star-crossed lovers from warring families….only the warring families are the same family…with split sides. It's good inspiration for a painting. "

"Or a teenage soap opera." Brian cut in, shaking his head a little.

"Fuck. Now were comparing my life to Dawson's creek?" Gus fell back against the arm of the couch, sighing.

Justin threw a blanket over him, leaning against the back of the couch a few minutes. "Maybe you should just sleep on it. It usually helps me. "

Gus sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever." He pulled the blanket up over his head, blocking the world out like he used to do when he was little.

" Go to Sleep. And if you jerk off on my couch-"

"You'll fucking shoot me. I _know._"

Brian grinned, moving Justin towards the bedroom. "Goodnight, Sonny boy."

* * *

Jenny woke up to the smell of breakfast. Pancakes. Sausage. Fruit. It smelled wonderful, and she was starving, but getting out of bed didn't feel quite like an option yet. She felt depressed, and uncomfortable. _Am I still wearing clothes?_ She thought idly as she pulled the blanket back. Yup. Fully clothed. Weird. She ran a hand through her hair; it was tangled and probably looked closer to a bird's nest then actual hair. She sighed, trying to think. Oh. That's right. She'd fallen asleep with her clothes on because she hadn't had the strength to do anything else. She'd kissed her brother last night and found out that her entire life had been a lie. Awesome. She groaned, and then quickly pulled off her tights and skirt, leaving them on the floor, and going over to her bag to pick out a pair of jeans and a black tank top. She changed quickly and then pulled her messy hair up into a ponytail. She thought about calling her mom again, but she wasn't sure she was ready to do that yet, so instead she went in search of breakfast. Michael and Ben were in the kitchen. She assumed that Ben was cooking, she could hear and smell the sizzling sausages. They were talking in low tones, as if they were trying not to wake her up. She pressed herself against the door of her room, listening.

"Do you think she called Mel last night?" Michael was asking.

"I don't know. Maybe. She looked exhausted. She probably decided to wait till the morning." Ben replied. Always the voice of reason.

"What are we going to say to her when she wakes up?" Michael said, sounding worried, like he always did.

"Nothing. We wait for her to talk."

"Well, What if she doesn't?"

"Then she doesn't, Michael. We have to let her make the moves."

J.R. took that as her cue. She walked into the kitchen, forcing a little smile on her face.

"Good morning." She mumbled, leaning against the door frame.

"Hey, J.R., good morning. Have a seat. I'll get you some breakfast." Ben said, already putting a couple of sausages on her plate

"Thanks." She said sitting down at the table, cutting a little square of pancake with her fork, and then popping into her mouth.

"Did you sleep okay?" Michael asked her, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I slept fine, dad." She put her fork down, looking up at him. "I don't really want to talk about it. I feel lied to. And I feel like I can't trust anyone. I'd go home…it's just…my mom lied to me too. So…" She shrugged a little. "I guess I'll stay for awhile. "

"Oh." Michael said, exchanging a glance with Ben. "Okay then. "

She pushed away from the table. "I'm going to go for a walk. Isn't there a park a couple blocks away?"

"Um…there's one two streets over." Ben said, looking up at her. "Do you want one of us to come with you?"

"That would kind of defeat the purpose. I'll bring my cell phone." She said softly, turning to leave.

"Can you make sure and answer it this time?" Michael called after her.

* * *

The swing set creaked as J.R. gently moved back and forth, her feet firmly planted in the sand beneath her. It was cold out, and the metal chains holding up the swing were freezing to the touch. She stuffed her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt hoping that'd she'd warm up soon. She didn't want to go home. Not even a little bit. She wasn't even really sure what home really was anymore. Or where. She pulled out her cell phone, flipping through the contacts. She'd saved Gus's number when Lindsey given it to him last night. And now her finger hovered over the send button while his name was highlighted. She couldn't deny her ache to see him. He was the only one who felt the same way she did. He was the only one who understood. She pressed the send button, pressing the phone to her ear. He answered on the second one.

"J.R.?" he sounded tired, groggy, like he'd just woken up. What time was it anyway? Her throat was dry, she didn't think he could respond.

"J.R.? Jenny? Are you there?"

She cleared her throat and then nodded before she realized that he couldn't so her.

"Oh. Uh…H-hi. It's J.R."

"I know." He was silent for a moment or two, and the he spoke again. "What's up? Are you okay?"

"I'm…" She had started to say okay. But that wasn't exactly the truth. "I'm…coping." She said softly. "Can I see you right now? I just really want to talk to someone who…gets it."

"Sure. Yeah. Of course. Where are you?"

"The park. It's two streets over from my dad's. Do you wanna meet me?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in a few. Don't move." There was a click, and J.R. assumed he'd hung up. She snapped her phone shut, stuffing into her pocket sighing. She had a feeling like maybe that wasn't the best choice she could've made.

* * *

Gus tried to ignore the contracting thing his heart was doing at the sight of her. She was still pretty, even in a sweatshirt and jeans with her hair pulled up. That was how you knew a girl was _really_ pretty. He walked up to her, sitting in the swing directly next to hers. He waited for her to talk first.

"Do you remember me?" She said softly, looking up at him. "You must've been, what, four?"

He nodded, watching her for a few minutes and then shrugged. "Yeah. It's just little flashes though. Like…I remember a crib...And…a really long car ride, with lots of crying." He shrugged a little again and then raised a brow. "You don't remember anything?"

Jenny shook her head. "Not you. Not Lindsey. " She was quiet for a moment, and then she titled her head a little. "But I remember things about Pittsburgh. I used to come here when I was little. I don't know. It's nothing concrete."

She bit down on her lip, looking like she was going to start crying, but she didn't. "God, I just feel so stupid, ya know? Like…I'm so stupid not to have realized. Not to have questioned…" She put her face in her hands for a moment, and then looked up at him, looking as if she was completely lost. "And I thought…I thought you and I…I thought we might have something and now I just feel so stupid….you know? Like…why would I think even for a second that I would get something that…" She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm always going to be the weird girl." She said the last bit under her breath, but Gus caught it.

"What are you talking about?" He asked in a soft voice.

She opened her eyes to look at him. "God, I'm even more pathetic than I thought." She blew out a breath, tugging on her ponytail. She took a deep breath, looking down at the sand.

"In Toronto, I was the weird girl. I was the girl who was always spacing out in class because she was drawing something. Or…the girl who didn't understand what the point of going to the mall and not buying anything was. I didn't have a lot of friends. Especially not friends of the boy variety…" She looked up at him through her lashes.

"When you looked at me…I didn't really know what to think. You were the first boy who didn't think I was a weirdo. It was nice. And you're my brother."

"Not by blood." He said softly. "And I don't think it's possible for me to think of you as anything less than exactly what you are."

"And what would that be?"

"One of the most amazing girls I've ever met." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear that was escaping from the ponytail.

She smiled, that pretty blush that he loved so much coloring her cheeks. "And how many girls have you said that to?"

"One."

She scoffed. "It's okay. I get it. You don't have to lie. You're like….Mr. Pittsburgh, right? All the girls love you? You've been around the block."

"What gives you that impression?" He raised a brow, tilting his head a little.

She scoffed, shaking her head. "Um. You tried to get me drunk, took me dancing and then made out with me. I'm not going to lie, it felt a little like a routine."

He laughed, shaking his head. "Maybe it started out that way. But it didn't end like that."

"You still didn't answer my question though. How many?"

"How many what? It's a vague question. How many have I slept with? Danced with? Kissed?"

J.R. grinned. "Any one of the three."

He shrugged. "Alright. I won't lie to you. I've…been around…but I swear it was different with you."

She grinned, shaking her head. "I really don't believe you. I mean, I'm your sister, I could read you like a book." She joked.

"You're _not_ my sister." He said a little laugh in his voice. "Family…isn't always about who's names are on your birth certificate or…in our case, who's kid is your other mom's."

She laughed, kicking the sand beneath her.

"It's about the people you grew up with. I didn't grow up with you. You're not my sister. You were just supposed to be. But you're not. And that's okay with me."

She looked up at him, blinking for a few minutes. "Gus…"

"What?" He said, suddenly completely concerned.

She shook her head, and then leaned over the swing creaking as she did so, and pressed her lips to his.

Gus was a little shocked at first, he hadn't really been expecting it, after all, she'd seemed pretty adamant about the fact that they were related and now she was kissing him, and god did it feel nice. He reached a hand up to cup her cheek, and she pushed herself against him a little more. Gus pulled away a little, shaking his head.

"Jenny…whoa. I don't want to do this just because you're confused and upset and-"

She cut him off, pressing her lips against his insistently. He sighed against them, pulling away.

"Jenny…" He sighed a little. "I also don't really want to do this in a park. Come on." He said, standing up, holding out his hand for her to take.

She nodded, taking his hand, and he pulled her along, crossing the street to get to his car.

"Where are we going?" She asked curiously.

"I'm not sure." He said unlocking the car door for her. It was an old fashioned car. The kind you still had to stick the key in the lock to open the door. It was a truck light blue. Brian had bought it for him for his sixteenth birthday. That, and a fake ID. All the essentials. He leaned against the side of it staring up at her.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere, where we can do this…" She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again. Their mouths moved in perfect synchronization. Like a dance. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in closer, and then he pulled away his forehead resting against hers for a few moments.

"We could go to my dad's. It's Sunday. He usually takes Justin out for brunch. They won't be home for awhile."

"Brunch?" She said with a little laugh. "Your dad really doesn't seem the type to do brunch."

Gus shrugged. "He's not. But Justin likes it."

She smiled a little. "That's sweet."

"Yeah. But don't expect me to take _you_ to brunch." He grinned, opening the door for her.

"Oh I won't. I don't want brunch. I just want you to take me home." She flashed him a flirty smile and then got into the car gracefully.

Gus found himself praying that this wasn't a dream.


	8. When it's right

**Disclaimer: I do not own QAF. I just watch it like a crazy person. **

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Life totally got in the way. Anyways, reviews are really nice and they make me want to write me so do it. =] Please and thank you. **

Brian's loft was very home-y. It was actually sort of shocking. It didn't seem like the type of place that a person like Brian would be interested in. Well not from the inside anyway. The outside screamed pure bachelor pad, pure Brian, but once you were on the inside it was most definitely a home. Completely and noticeably Justin influenced. It was full of warm soft tones, no harsh cold blues. There were browns and oranges and yellows. Lots of paintings. They all looked like originals.

"Did Justin do these?" J.R. asked swinging Her and Gus's clasped hands a little.

"Yeah. I think so. He wanted to make it feel more like home. Most everything in here is Justin's influence."

She dropped his hand, moving over to a large painting on the wall next to the bedroom. It was of Brian, holding a baby in the air, their foreheads touching.

"I can tell." She said softly, eyes still roving over the painting.

Gus came up behind her, snaking his arms around her waist. "It's a replica of a real picture. Yes, that adorable little baby is me."

She smiled a little turning to look at him. "Hm. What happened?"

"You don't think I'm cute?" He pouted a little and then sighed, pulling away from her.

"Oh, you're adorable; don't act like you don't know it." She was still staring at the painting entranced by how well done it was. It almost looked like a real photograph, instead of just a painting. She glanced in the corner of the painting taking in the signature printed there in black calligraphy. Justin Taylor.

"He's an amazing artist."

"So are you."

J.R. scoffed. "You've only seen one drawing."

He shrugged, "You're going to the Pittsburgh Art Institute, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "Yeah…but-"

"You're good." He said softly. "Justin went there. So you've got to be just as good as him right?"

She smiled a little, shrugging. "I guess so."

He touched her cheek for a minute, before playfully ruffling her hair. "Everything you do is amazing. Why wouldn't that count for your artistry too?"

"Okay, now you're getting cheesy."

"Am I?" He asked, grabbing her around the waist, and pulling her in a little closer.

"Maybe I like cheesy." She whispered; before he leaned down to kiss her. J.R. decided that she liked kissing him. A lot. It was almost as if they were made to do this. If this was wrong…then she really didn't know what right felt like anymore. And she didn't exactly care to know. They stayed like that for a long time, all lips and gliding hands.

Sooner rather than later, J.R. pulled away pulling her sweatshirt off and leaving it on the floor. Gus threw his jacket off in response, and she pushed him towards the bedroom. A tiny part of her knew that this was wrong. Not just because Gus was her 'brother' but because this was Brian's loft, and this was Brian's bed that she was now pushing him toward, but stopping didn't quite feel like an option anymore.

She unbuttoned her jeans, kicking them off as they fell to her feet. She crushed her lips back against his, tugging on Gus's belt as the back of his knees hit the end of the bed and he fell back against the pillows, J.R. landing lightly above him. She pulled off the belt, quickly moving to unbutton the blasphemous jeans too.

She pulled back from him for a minute, taking him in. He was left in his white boxers and grey t-shirt. She, herself was in her black tank top and blue underwear. She bit down on her lip, thinking for a moment. She did a quick mental check list just to make sure that she really wanted this. She weighed the pros and cons for a few seconds, really trying to make a well thought out decision…in less than a minute. She was definitely Melanie's daughter. She decided quickly that she liked what they were doing. What they were about to do. It felt good. Nice. Right. Perfect. She tried to remember what her mother had told her about situations like these apart from.

'Whatever they tell you is a big fucking lie.' She tilted her head a little smiling at the memory and then she remembered the other thing Melanie had told her. 'When it's right…you'll know."

She smiled down at him and then carefully pulled off her tank top. She felt oddly exposed and for a second she wanted to forget the whole thing. Maybe they shouldn't be doing this. He paused for a minute taking her in, after what felt like an abnormally like time of silence, J.R. feeling exposed and Gus staring, he opened his mouth.

"You're so-"

"Don't say it." She whispered. "Just um…show me." She breathed.

He grinned a little, grabbing her hips lightly and rolling her over so that she was lying on her back and he was hovering over her. He pulled back a little, taking off his shirt as he went, but he couldn't stay away from her for too long. He leaned over her again pressing soft kisses to her neck, and she let out tiny little hitches of breath every time. They sounded beautiful to Gus.

"Gus wait."

He pulled back to look at her, and she smiled a little. "I've never….I've never really done…" She sighed, biting her lip. "This is my first time."

* * *

Gus wasn't really surprised, she certainly didn't seem like the kind of girl who'd been around the way he had.

"That's okay." He whispered, leaning down to press kisses to her neck. And it really was. It didn't matter to him.

"I'll be careful." He could feel the tiny girl tense a little and he smiled against her jaw as he kissed it.

"You just need to relax." He whispered.

She let out a little breath, shaking her head. "Relax? How could _anybody_ relax when they're about to lose their virginity?"

He laughed, and then pulled away to look down at her. "We don't have to do this. It's your choice. "

She shook her head, looking determined. "No…No I want to." She bit down on her lip, looking up at him.

"Okay, one second." He reached over her, pulling out a drawer and then pulled out a condom, holding up the brightly packaged square.

"First things first. We gotta be safe. If there was one thing my dad instilled in me, it was that." He held out the condom for her to see and then quickly ripped the paper off, the rest disappearing underneath the blanket.

"Are you okay?" He asked, softly moving himself into position, holding himself above her, trying to read her eyes.

"I'm fine." She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him. "Gus?" She whispered softly.

"Yeah?"

"You're…not just saying all of these wonderful things so that you could get in my pants right?"

Gus pulled up a little to look at her, his eyes bright and serious. He shook his head once.

"No."

She breathed a little shaky sigh of relief.

"And…You'll still talk to me after this, right?"

He chuckled a little, leaning down to nuzzle her neck; he kissed it and then moved up towards her ear.

"You're sort of stuck with me now. I'm completely addicted to you, J.R."

She shuddered a little and then pulled his head towards her lips, holding him there for a few moments, inches above them.

"Just…kiss me. And don't stop." She whispered, leaning up, closing the space between their lips a little more, but he didn't close the space completely just yet.

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else." He whispered directly again them.

* * *

The creak of the door should've woken them and if not the door, the whispered voices growing louder and louder should have alerted them to the fact that they were no longer alone. J.R heard them both in her sleep. The door and the voices. She wasn't really asleep, she was more in that half way zone. The sort of lazy half-sleep you found yourself in on lazy Saturdays when you knew you didn't have to be awake for hours but you weren't all that tired anymore. She should've woken up, but she was content. She merely snuggled in closer to Gus. His breathing was different when he was sleeping, deeper. More rhythmic. It was nice. Like a lullaby.

"What. The. Fuck."

That startled both her and Gus awake.

"Shit." Was the first thing out of Gus's mouth, he was hurriedly pulling the blankets up to cover them up. J.R. was sure that her cheeks were an ugly bright red color.

Justin and Brian were standing in the doorway, staring at the pair of them. Justin looked completely shocked. Brian just looked angry.

"Ooooh." Brian shook his head, a little smirk taking over his face. "You are so grounded. Actually, you're so grounded that were going to have to make up a new fucking word for it."

Gus was hurriedly trying to get his pants on without being exposed, but J.R. really couldn't bring herself to move. Justin leaned down picking up a sweatshirt off the ground and then he threw it at the girl. "You look like you need that." His voice was kind though. And he looked at her with understanding eyes. She suddenly found herself wondering about Justin's first time. Had it been with Brian?

J.R. quickly pulled the sweatshirt over her head, and then grabbed her jeans, managing to get them on subtlety underneath the blankets.

"Get the FUCK out of my bed." Brian said, and anger was too dull of a word to describe the way he sounded.

"Brian, Calm down-" Justin started, but instantly stopped when Brian shot him a look that J.R. was sure he didn't see very often.

J.R. and Gus scrambled awkwardly up from the bed and out of the bedroom. They moved into the living room, awkwardly standing next to each other, not daring to touch.

Brian and Justin followed them, Brian standing in front of Gus, Justin in front of J.R.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing?" Brian questioned, shaking his head at his son.

Gus shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, but J.R. could tell that he was scared out of his mind. She got the impression that Brian was the only thing in the world that _did_ scare him. He loved his dad, and they understood each other…but J.R. thought that those things were also the reason Gus was afraid of him.

"Um…I…w-was just getting what I want. Like you told me."

Brian let out a little sarcastic laugh. "I didn't say to get it in my BED. Christ, why don't you go fuck her in Lindsey's bed?"

J.R. winced at the language. It wasn't like she'd never heard it before, or that she didn't use it herself, it was just that Brian was so angry and it seemed like he was diminishing everything that had happened. She felt small.

"It just sort of happened. I'm sorry." Gus breathed.

"Oh? Well don't let it 'just sort of happen' ever again. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear." He mumbled under his breath.

Brian turned to Justin who was watching the whole scene in silence. He wasn't one to tell Brian how to discipline his kid. Even if he thought he was being a bit harsh. He'd tell him later. When the anger died down. "Were going to have to wash the sheets now." He rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair. "Shit."

Justin shook his head. "It's alright. I can do it. It's not that big of a deal. It won't take long." He glanced towards the bedroom. "I'll just go gather everything and you can come with me down to the washroom okay?" He said giving Brian a look that said. 'Agree to it. You need to cool off.'

He rolled his eyes, nodding in an irritated sort of way as Justin disappeared into the bedroom.

Brian locked eyes with Gus. "You used a condom?"

"Of course I did." He said, almost as if he was a little insulted that he had to ask.

"You know, I have to call Lindsey." He glanced up at J.R. "And Michael."

"Aw come on." Gus said in a low voice. "It's not that big of a deal. We shouldn't have done it in your bed were sorry-"

"Gus." Brian said in a low voice, one eyebrow raised. "I can't bail you out of everything forever."

Gus looked up at him sharply, and then he swallowed, nodding. "I know that."

Brian shook his head, looking as if he had a headache that would never cease.

"You're twenty-one…so I don't have to call Lindsey I suppose, but…" He paused his eyes roving over J.R. "Michael's a different story."

"Since when do you care about that?" Gus said in an irritated tone. "Don't act all high and mighty. Don't act like the parent and the big responsible adult. I KNOW exactly how old you were when you fucked Justin for the first time and I know EXACTLY how old he was."

Justin had chosen that moment to reappear at the bedroom door, sheets bundled up in a laundry basket he was holding.

Brian looked up at him for a moment, and then his eyes moved back to his son.

"Were not talking about me. Were talking about you."

"Well, you're being a giant hypocrite, so I thought I'd call you out on it." He said, keeping his eyes on him.

Brian sighed, shaking his head. "What do you want?" He asked his son. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to stop BULLshitting me. I want EVERYONE to stop bullshitting me. Just was seventeen when you fucked him! You were twenty fucking nine! What does that say about YOU huh? There were plenty of adults around that could've told Justin's mom but they _didn't-"_

"It was different, Gus. It was a different time…"

"Oh fuck that. You're BULLSHITTING me again."

Brian let out an annoyed sound. "Fucking teenagers. Listen to me, you little asshole. Justin and I. Are not you and J.R. Do you her me? You are not ME. I'm Brian. You're Gus. Were two very different people. You can't do the same things I did." He was silent for a minute and then he shrugged. "And Justin wasn't my brother."

Gus held his gaze, eyes tearing up. J.R. was sure he was going to start crying at any moment.

"You don't believe that. You don't believe she's my sister. You…you…you said-"

Brian shook his head, cutting him off. "It doesn't matter what I believe. It matters what your mother, and Michael believe."

"But you're my dad! It matters what you think!"

"I'm your biological dad-"

It was then that Gus started crying, and it was the first time that J.R. had seen him do so. It made her heart swell a little.

"Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit! You were there when I was born, and you were there my entire childhood. All those stupid father-son camping trips, and those god-awful take your parent to school days. And fucking career days. You care about me, so don't do that SHIT you do when you feel like you can't handle parenting because it's all just BULLSHIT. You fall back on the fact that you were never supposed to really be a dad, but you were and you ARE so ACT LIKE IT!"

Everyone was silent after that. Gus shut his eyes, breathing hard. J.R. took a couple steps towards him, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it lightly.

J.R. spent the next few silent moments, comforting Gus by rubbing his hand lightly, she hadn't really noticed. But Brian was actually upset, and showing emotion. Justin had one hand on his back as if to hold him together and then after what felt like an eternity, Brian spoke, very softly.

"Okay. I'm not going to lie to you. I don't do that. So yes, I'm scared. Yes, I'm trying to back out but you have no fucking clue how much you're scaring me. You're mother. Hell, even Justin."

Gus blinked up at him, shaking his head. "I don't know what your talking about…"

Brian shook his head at him. "Gus." He said his name like ti was a ticking bomb. "Whatever your running away from…whatever…was going on before J.R. came in to town isn't gone just because she's here. She may feel like your savoir, but she's not. It's all going to come back, Gus."

Gus dropped J.R.'s hand like it was a hot poker. "There's nothing going on with me."

Brian sighed. "Of course there wasn't." He exchanged a glance with Justin that made J.R. feel a little uncomfortable.

"You know what?" Gus said, clearly more upset than he was letting on. "I'm leaving. I have a shift at the diner anyway."

"Gus…" Justin tried, and he froze half way to the door. "Don't leave like this. It's not Brian's fault. "

He stood froze for a few more moments, but then he was picking up his pace again and walking straight out the door leaving Brian, Justin and J.R. staring at the door after him.


	9. I know

**Disclaimer: I don't own Queer as Folk. **

**A/N: Hi! Sorry again, for the wait. I'm having a little bit of a writer's block issue so if this chapter isn't as good as the other's, I apologize. It took awhile to crank it out. Anyways, enjoy! And review!**

The three of them stood staring at the door for what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes. Brian was the first one to break their frozen state. He started pacing, which broke J.R. out of her own state of frozenness. She watched him for a long time, back and forth, and then Justin went towards him.

"Bri?" He said asked in a concerned voice, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but Brian shrugged him off.

"I'm fine." He mumbled, pushing past Justin and into the bedroom. Justin let out a little sigh, turning towards J.R.

"Do you need a ride home?" He asked giving her a soft smile. What she loved about Justin is that no matter the situation he always seemed to understand. He had this unwavering affection for almost everyone, and right now she was glad for it. It made her feel less alone.

She nodded a tiny bit, "Yes…well…if it's too much trouble, I could call Hunter or…Ben." She shrugged a little bit.

Justin just smiled, shaking his head a little. "Oh don't worry about it. I'll drop you home. It's not a problem." He turned his head a little towards the bedroom.

"Brian!" He called, waiting patiently for a response, but there was nothing. He sighed, rolling his eyes a little, but continued nonetheless.

"I'm going to drop J.R. at home. I'll be back in a little bit. Can I use your car?"

Justin had his own of course. But he rarely drove it. Brian liked to play Chauffer most of the time, and when he wasn't, Justin usually took Brian's car anyway.

There was no answer from Brian, just the sound of keys being extracted from a pocket and then skittering across the floor.

"Thanks…" Justin mumbled going over to pick them up. He motioned her towards the door and she obliged. She swung the heavy door open and then followed him the rest of the way out to the car. They drove for a long while in silence, Justin fiddling with the radio every now and then. J.R. wasn't listening though, her brain was stuck on Gus. She'd never seen him that way before. That angry. Upset. He was in tears. It was all very strange, like suddenly he was a different person. It was a little scary, and she was starting to realize that maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. Her judgment had been clouded by their instant connection. She let out small little whimper, leaning her head against the window. She could feel Justin gaze on her, but she was waiting for him to address her. Another five minutes, and she wasn't disappointed.

"I know." He said in a low voice.

J.R. looked up at him, blinking. "Know what?" she questioned.

His lips twitched into a grin and she couldn't help but smile as well, it was completely infectious.

"I know what it's like to love someone that you aren't supposed to." He looked up at her for a minute, before turning back to the road.

J.R. blushed and then shrugged. "You mean, you've felt this heart-crushing, gut-wrenching, headachy, flu gettin' feeling before?"

Justin laughed, "Oh yeah. Unfortunately they can't just give you an anti-biotic and tell you to take it every couple of hours. Especially not me…I'm allergic to Tylenol…"

"You're allergic to-"

"Tylenol. Yeah." He cut her off, and then he smiled a little looking up at her. "Although it's funny. E has no effect on me."

J.R. giggled. The other reason she liked Justin so much was that he didn't treat her like a child. Everything was fair game to talk about. Even, if it was something that would've been frowned upon by Michael. They were both silent again for a few moments, and then J.R sighed, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Justin asked curiously.

"I'm sorry that you know what it feels like."

Justin smiled a little. "Well that's okay. Everything worked out for me."

"Lucky you." She mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself, even though it was pretty warm inside the car.

Justin glanced at her for a second, and then turned the corner towards her street.

"Listen," He said softly. "I think you're good for Gus. No matter what anyone says." He paused for a minute, turning a corner.

"Gus was really messed up for awhile. We really didn't know what to do with him. Brian was ready to send him to one of those boot camps." He drove a little ways until he reached the little driveway that represented J.R.'s home in Pittsburgh.

"Lindsey and I sort of talked Brian down. We got Gus working at the diner and he's supposed to be going to school but…" He sighed, turning to face her. "We don't really know if that's actually happening or not. Anyway," He let out a breath, looking a little lost. J.R. got the impression that he cared about Gus just as much as if he wore his biological parent. "…Since you got here…he's been okay. Apart from today that is." He shrugged a little. "I guess…I'm just saying I'm on your side. And I don't know if things will work out for you like they did for me…but I think you deserve that."

J.R. stared at him for a long moment, her head tilted a tiny bit towards the side and then her lips stretched into a smile. She leaned in a little bit, almost as if she were unsure, but then she shook it off and wrapped her arms tentatively around the older man.

"Thank you." She whispered, holding onto him tightly for a few seconds. She didn't really realize how much she'd needed a hug. Justin hugged her back but only for a moment or two before she pulled away.  
"I should go inside. Dad's probably having a panic attack. I'm supposed to be at the park."

Justin laughed. "Yup. He's having a conniption. I can feel it."

She laughed, before pushing the car door open. "Bye Justin!" She said, flashing him a smile before running up the porch steps to the door.

J.R. slid her key into the door turning it quickly and then pushing it open.

"I'm home!" She called, already starting to take off her sweatshirt, pulling it over her head, momentarily obscuring her vision. When the sweatshirt was off and on the floor she jumped a little when she noticed Michael standing in front of her.

"Oh hi." She said a little giggle escaping her mouth. "You scared me."

He opened his mouth to say something, but then another person revealed themselves, previously hidden just behind Michael. J.R.'s mouth hung open for a few seconds.

"Mom?" She said softly, in a disbelieving sort of voice.

Melanie Marcus was standing in the hallway behind Michael watching the pair of them. J.R. recognized the look on her face. It was the one that she wore every time she was grounding her. J.R.'s stomach dropped. Why was she here, and how much did she know?

"What are you doing here?" She asked, feeling her mouth go dry.

"Well, I came to find out what the hell my daughter's been up too that has kept her out of reach of her cell phone?"

"I haven't been-"

"Then why haven't you called?"

Jenny breathed a little sigh of relief. Oh thank god. She was just upset that she hadn't called to check-in. She'd just come to check up on her.

"Yeah, I would've told you that your mom was here, but you seemed to have this little issue with answering the phone." Michael said, pointedly.

J.R. immediately felt her pockets, realizing suddenly that she didn't have her phone on her anymore.

She made an apologetic face to him and then shrugged. "I'm sorry, I think my cell phone fell out at Brian's…"

Both Michael and Melanie turned to face her, with mirrored looks of shock.

"Brian's?" Michael asked, as Melanie sucked in a breath.

"Why the HELL was she at Brian's!"

J.R. closed her eyes, realizing with a horrible sinking feeling that she had just given herself away. She let out a groan and then opened her eyes to face her parents.

"Well, I want for a walk…"

"You said you were going to the park." Michael cut in, crossing his arms over his chest.

J.R. nodded quickly, "Yeah! I went for a walk…to the park…" She bit down on her lip, "but…then…I called Gus…"

"Gus!" Melanie said, her gaze turning towards Michael. "GUS!"

Michael closed his eyes for a second, rubbing his forehead. "You were with Gus….at Brian's?" He asked in a tired voice.

"If I say yes how grounded am I?" she questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Less than if you lie and say no." Michael quipped.

J.R. shrugged. "Yeah. I was with Gus. At Brian's."

"How dare you!" Melanie was raving, but she was turned towards Michael. Not J.R. Her cheeks were pink with anger, and J.R. knew her mother well enough to know that she really didn't want to be around for her yelling match with Michael but she couldn't justify leaving her father by his self. It really wasn't his fault.

"How dare I what?" Michael asked her in a defensive tone. J.R. groaned, this was going to get ugly, very , very fast. She'd seen her parents fight before, it was never pretty or easily ended.

"How dare you disrespect my wishes, I TOLD you I didn't want her around those people-"

"Melanie!" Michael cut her off, shaking his head. "I wasn't going to keep our daughter from her FAMILY. I couldn't do that. I'd NEVER do that. She WANTED to know them."

"I don't care what she wanted Michael Novotny, I am her mother and-"

"Yes," he said rolling his eyes a little. "You're her mother. And I'm her father. You can stop stating facts. Were both aware of who her parents are. I have JUST as much parental rights as you DO-"

"Does anybody here realize that I'm sixteen years old and not four and a half? If I fall down and skin my knee I could get a band aid all by myself now. I can walk and talk and everything." J.R. cut in sarcastically.

"Don't get smart." Melanie snorted.

"I'm not getting smart! You both act like I'm a child and I'm not!" She crossed her arms over her chest staring at her parents.

"I don't know if you've realized this or not, but my intuitions pretty damn good and my deduction skills are right up there with amazing. I would've figured it all out anyway, and you know what, _Mom_?' She said the word like it was disgusting.

"At least dad didn't _want_ to lie to me. Which is a lot more than I can say for you. Everything I've done since I've been here, I did because I wanted to. I would've done it with or without dad's consent so get off his back."

"Jenny…" she said reaching out towards her, but she took several steps back.

"No. Don't touch me."

"Jenny, sweetheart, I'm sorry." She said in barely a whisper. "I know you think that I lied to you but you have to understand-"

"I don't want to understand. I don't even really want to talk to you. I actually sort of want you to leave."

"Excuse me?" Melanie gasped, the shock evident in her voice.

"Yeah…turns out I like being around all these people you kept me from my whole life. I like being around them a lot more than I like being around you."

"Jenny-"

"I'm going to my room. If you're still here when I come out, I'm going back to Brian's." She said in a soft but clear voice before turning around and heading straight for her bedroom. Melanie and Michael heard nothing after the slam of the door.

**A/N: Just a quick little thing. I have always thought it was hilarious that Justin says he's allergic to Tylenol in the first episode so I slipped it in. haha.**


	10. where to place the blame?

**A/N: Hi! I'm really sorry about the wait. My life got super crazy. Anyway, I felt a little inspired today so I cranked out another chapter. Thanks for sticking with this, and if you have some free time, you should read my OTHER QAF story. It's called a simple conversation and it's basically what I think Brian would've told Ethan had he had the chance and opportunity. (In my opinion they really didn't do enough with that whole Ethan thing. I dislike Ethan like every other Brian/Justin fan, but, I still think it was a cool idea and they could've played around with/used it more. Anywayyy, enjoy the chapter! And please review! They make me smile.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Queer as Folk. But it'd be cool if i did. **

J.R. collapsed onto her bed listening to the voices of her parents. Back and forth. They were like barking dogs.

Sometimes she had trouble understanding why they were even friends. They clashed about almost everything.

But then again, Melanie clashed with everyone. She was strong-willed that way, something she'd passed onto her daughter in a smaller dose. The voices got louder until finally another one joined them. She recognized it as Ben's. Ben was always the one to step in and break up their little fights. J.R. was just glad that the screaming match was over.

She listened for awhile longer and then she heard the sound of heels walking across the hardwood floor and then the slam of the front door. So her mother actually did leave. Good. She wasn't sure how she felt about anything anymore. She just knew that she was angry. But who was she supposed to direct the anger towards? Her mother, who'd lied to her and kept her sheltered her entire life? Or her father who had the option to tell his daughter everything, but chose not to? Or could she blame Lindsey, a person she really didn't even know, but had abandoned her before she'd even learned to talk?

She reached down and pulled the blanket up over her head and rolled over onto her side. A nap was definitely in order. Maybe she could sleep her headache away.

* * *

She awoke, several hours later, although it felt like only minutes, to a knock on her bedroom door.

"J.R.? Brian and Justin are here. They brought your cell phone over." Michael called through the door.

J.R. sat up quickly, pushing the blanket off and jumping out of bed, running her fingers through her hair, hoping that she didn't look too awful.

"Thanks. I'll be out in a minute!" she called. She did a quick glance in the mirror.

Not too bad. She looked a little tired and shabby but who could blame her, really?

She pulled open her bedroom door and found Michael still standing there, a worried expression on his face.

"Hi." She said softly with a little half-smile.

"Are you okay honey bun?" He asked her, and it was completely genuine.

J.R. blushed. She couldn't help it. He reserved the use of that nickname for when he was either feeling really guilty or sentimental and nostalgic. It was her childhood nickname.

"Dad." She said in exasperated tone. "That's embarrassing. Don't call me that."

"I'm your dad. I'm supposed to embarrass you. And I figure you can't be mad at me if you remember that you're my honeybun."

She smiled a little. "I'm not mad at you. Not really. I slept. I feel a little better about everything."

He nodded, and then patted her cheek a little. "Justin's in the living room with your cell phone. Do me a favor though? Call your mother when you get it back. She's ready to hop the next plane back to Toronto and drag you with her but…." He shrugged a little. "I'm not ready for you to leave."

Jenny smiled, looking at the ground for a moment or two and then she wrapped her arms around him squeezing him tightly.

"I should've come to stay with you before now, I'm sorry that I didn't. I love you. You're the best dad a girl can ask for. " She whispered before pulling back and moving towards the living room.

Brian and Justin were sitting on the couch, Brian sprawled out like it was his own house, and lazily flipping through channels on the television. Justin stared at him with a look that was a mix between annoyance and fondness.

"100 channels? They only get 100 channels, Justin. What the fuck are they spending money on?" Brian asked, looking up at Justin who still looked annoyed.

"They have children, Brian. Maybe they'd like to clothe and feed J.R. rather than get HBO."

"Hi." J.R. giggled a little as she saw the pair of them, and Justin was the only one that actually looked up at her when she spoke.

"Hey." He said flashing her a smile and standing up. "I have two things for you." He reached into his pocket, pulling her cell phone out to her. "Here's your cell phone."

She took it from him and pocketed it and then he held out a little square piece of paper towards her. "And then I have this for you." He shook the paper at her and she took it, reading it over.

_Your presence is requested at Beckerman hall on Friday evening _

_At 8:00 PM to celebrate Mr. Justin Taylor's artwork. _

_Pieces will be sold at the event. Prices to be inquired about with Mr. Justin Taylor. _

J.R. looked up at him with a smile. "You're having an art show? That's so cool."

Justin shrugged, and then smiled. "It's just a part of being an artist. When you need a little bit of cash, have an art show." He nodded his head a little towards her. "You're missing something. Turn it over."

J.R. raised a brow at him, looking a little confused for a moment, but then she turned the little paper over. There in black sharpie that she was sure Justin had added in later were the words:

_This invitation grants the invitee one free art piece from the shoe. _

J.R. smiled a little and looked back at him. "Justin…you don't have to do that. I'll come anyway…your work is amazing." She said trying to hand the piece of paper back to him, but he pushed her hand away.

"Thanks." He said with a little smile. "But I want you to have it. Pick something. Seriously, anything you want. Having some new art around always makes me…realize that there's a bright side. I want make sure that happens for you."

She folded the piece of paper, before stuffing it in her pocket, and giving him a half smile. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome." His smile increased then, if that were even possible, and he reached out a hand out her shoulder for a few minutes before letting it drop and taking a step back to towards his jacket.

"Well, Brian and I should get going…." He said as he threw his jacket around his shoulders and then pushed his arms through. He turned his head a little bit to face Brian.

"Are you ready to go?"

Brian looked up at him raising a brow, and then he held up the remote. "I'm watching T.V." He said like it was obvious that he was busy and wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"Brian…" He said in a soft voice. "Were going by the diner remember? To talk to Gus?"

Brian rolled his eyes and then shrugged. "This is much more important. I'm watching the weather channel." He shook his head looking up at Justin. "They shell out cash for the weather channel, but _shun_ HBO?"

"The weather channel is practical." J.R. cut in, and Brian turned his eyes on her for the first time since she'd entered the room. J.R. could feel the cold emanating from him and for the first time, J.R. realized that Brian didn't like her very much.

"Practical?" He said the word like it was the dumbest thing anybody could've said. J.R. felt quite suddenly nervous and shy.

"Um…yeah. That's what dad always says…that's why we have it. Um…because knowing the weather is important." She finished, knowing how incredibly lame she sounded.

"Hm. " was the only sound that escaped Brian's mouth as he stared at J.R.

It was silent for what felt like a whole minute, but was probably only seconds, before Justin spoke.

"Brian?" He asked, shaking his head just a little. "We have to go see Gus."

Brian pulled his gaze away from J.R. to look over at Justin, his expression softening.

"Yes, let's go talk to my sonny boy." He said turning off the Television and standing up.

"We can listen to him bitch some more about what an awful father I am and how much he hates me. Little prick. " He grabbed his jacket already heading towards the door.

"He doesn't hate you!" Justin called after him, but Brian was already out the door. He rolled his eyes a little before turning back to Jenny.

"I'll see you later." He mumbled, turning to follow Brian. J.R. touched his arm to stop him.

"Hey Justin? Could you tell Gus something for me?" She asked in a small voice, biting down on her lip.

"Sure." He said with a little nod.

"Could you just tell him…that I'm here if he wants to talk? And to call me?"

Justin nodded. "Sure I will. Bye J.R." He said, flashing her a smile before following Brian's path out the door.

She watched him leave, shutting the door softly behind him, and then she turned towards the kitchen. Michael and Ben were letting the spaghetti sauce burn in favor of kissing each other. J.R. slipped into a chair at the table, watching them with a disgusted expression for a few minutes.

"Gross." She said shaking her head and sticking her tongue out a little. It was then that Ben realized she was in the room and pulled away.

"Oh..hey there, J.R., you get your cell phone?" He asked awkwardly, wiping the corner of his mouth before turning back around to stir the sauce and Michael started moving around the kitchen to set the table, a blush coloring his cheeks.

J.R. reached into her pocket taking out her cell phone, waving it for Ben to see.

"Yup. I'm sort of glad Justin found it. I think Brian would've smashed it." Ben turned around a little to look at her, raising a brow.

"Why would Brian smash your cell phone?"

J.R. shrugged a little, sighing. "I don't think he likes me very much. I don't really know why."

Michael laughed a little, setting her plate down in front of her. "Brian Kinney doesn't really like anyone." He paused, to kiss the top of her head, before moving back towards the cabinets to grab utensils.

"I guess so. I just sort of think…he thinks I'm bad for Gus or something." She kept her eyes on her empty plate unsure of how this topic would go over with the pair of them.

"You are bad for Gus." Michael said quickly. "You two shouldn't be together. You know that."

"I don't know that. I just know that everyone keeps _telling _me that." She pointed out, still refusing to look up.

Michael turned around to face her, a handful of forks in his hand. "You're not seeing him J.R. That's final. He's your brother. And this has to end. Do you understand me? I don't want you to talk to him, see him, call him. Anything."

J.R. stared at him open-mouthed for a few minutes, she was formulating just the right thing to say when Ben cut in.

"Don't you think that's a little harsh Michael?"

He blew out a breath through his nose, slamming the forks down on the counter. "No. I'm not being harsh at all! You know how unstable Gus is to begin with-!"

"Dad!" J.R. yelled, standing up from the table. She paused for a moment, and then shook her head a little. "Okay. I get it. I'll leave him alone."

Ben and Michael both looked at her with matching confused expressions.

She shrugged. "I'm just sick of hearing about what I can and can't do. I wasn't here to find love anyway. Or my long lost brother, or my other mother…or…anything I…came here to see what living with you would be like." She shrugged a little. "So I'll just focus on that. I'm sorry, I should've been focusing on that since the beginning."

She smiled a little, before sitting back down, staring at her empty plate. After a few minutes, she looked up at Ben. "Is dinner ready?"

Ben blinked at her and then he nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yes. Of course." He touched Michael's shoulder and he took a seat across from his daughter as Ben began scooping out spaghetti onto their plates.

Dinner passed quickly. No one spoke. There was nothing to talk about. Which was an interesting way to see Michael. He almost always had something to say. Once she'd finished at least half of her spaghetti(because she knew Ben wouldn't let her leave the table if she hadn't eaten most of it), she asked to be excused.

"Call your mom!" Michael called after her, as she made her way to her bedroom. She collapsed onto her bed, flipping her phone open as she did. When she opened it to no new text messages and no new calls it sort made her stomach drop. She hadn't realized that she'd been expecting there to be something from Gus. She titled her head a little into the pillow, wondering if she could even stick to what she'd told her father. She at least would have to talk to Gus one last time to tell him it was done. She looked down at her phone again, just to make sure there was nothing for him, and she wasn't surprised when there wasn't.

She let out a sigh and then punched in her mom's number, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Melanie was using her upset voice, the one that J.R. had learned to associate with bad moods.

She rolled her eyes and then let out a little sigh. "Hi mom."

"Oh, I'm mom now?"

"Mommy, don't do this." She said in a stressed voice. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I got so mad, but you can't act like you didn't do anything wrong either."

"I was protecting you."

"No. You were sheltering me. What did you think meeting this people would do to me, mother? They're family."

Melanie scoffed and J.R. could practically feel her roll her eyes.

"That so-called family turned the back on you years ago."

J.R. paused for a moment shifting the phone. "No. I think you turned your back on them. They still love you…They love ME."

"I know what this is. You've decided living with your father is new and fun and exciting and that's what you want to do now. He's who you want to be with, with all of his 'cool' friends-"

"That's not it at ALL. I love being with you, you're my MOM! And I love being with dad, I've always loved being with you both equally! So please, get OVER this obsessive compulsive competitive thing you have going with daddy! I love you. And I love him."

"And Lindsey?" Melanie said the name like it was poison.

J.R. was silent for a long moment and then she let out a breath. "I don't know Lindsey. I've barely said two words to her."

Melanie was silent and J.R. thought she knew part of what was going on now.

"Mom…if you think I'm going to love Lindsey more than I love you…that's ridiculous. You're my mom. Not only that…but you're my _mommy_. You're the one who bandaged my scrapped knees and kissed my bruises better, and helped me with my homework and held me when I had nightmares. Lindsey Peterson wasn't there for any of that. I love you. I will always love you."

"I know that, J.R., I love you too." Melanie said in a soft voice.

"Then you should come with me to Justin's show." She threw in, hoping that it would work.

Melanie sighed, "Jenny, I don't know-"

"Please? For me? It's just an art show, Mom. And…art's the thing I share with you. So I want to go with you. Justin's giving me a free piece and everything. Please?"

"When is it?"

"Friday."

"Friday it is then."

"Thanks mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, Kid."

There was a click, and J.R. hung up the phone quickly, changing into her pajama pants and sliding into bed. She left her phone on the highest ring, just in case. She wouldn't admit it was in case Gus called. It was, just in case.

* * *

The next week passed all in a blur. She ended up spending her day's helping out in her dad's store, and sometimes Ben would let her sit in on one of his lectures. Needless to say, she'd almost filled up her entire sketchbook. But she really did like living in Pittsburgh, living with her dad. It was nice, and there was no stress, and she fit into the Novotny-Bruckner family almost as well as she fit in with her mother. Melanie was practically seething about the fact that she liked it in Pittsburgh so much, but she wouldn't say anything. They were doing a little better, and J.R. phoned her nightly now, but she was still upset that she'd lied to her. There was just one thing though, about the whole week that was driving her crazy. Gus hadn't called. And the one time she'd seen him at the diner, he'd completely avoided her, he wouldn't even look her in the eyes when he brought her food. She began to measure the days by him not calling.

Monday. Got to use the cash register at the comic book store. No call.

Tuesday sat through three of Ben's lectures. No Call.

Wednesday. Had dinner at the diner. Seven avoided opportunity's to talk. One eye aversion. No call.

Thursday. Went over to Brian and Justin's for an art tutorial with Justin. No call.

Friday morning. Ate Breakfast with Ben and Dad at the diner. Still no call.

It was agonizing. Why wasn't he calling? And why did everything feel so different and _wrong_ without him? It made her stomach turn.

"Do you want to come to my lecture this morning? Were talking about Ancient Greece." Ben's voice melted into her thoughts and then she jumped a little. Were they still at the diner? She glanced down at her half-eaten pancakes. Apparently so.

"Oh. Sure. Yeah." She said distractedly, her eyes moving over to the counter, searching for Gus. Michael's eyes followed her.  
"He's not in yet. " he said softly. "His shift starts a little later than usual today." He sounded apologetic. It made J.R. feel stupid for caring.

"Oh." She said in a small voice. "Well that's nice…" Brian and Ben exchanged a look and it made J.R. feel even more stupid. Why did parents always have to make everything worse?

"If you don't want to go to Ben's lecture, you can hang out with me at the store for a bit. I just got a shipment in of a brand new comic book. We've got a ton of inventory to do. You can read while you stock." He smiled at her.

J.R. shrugged a little. "Actually, I was wondering if I could just sort of hang out today. Maybe with Hunter and Jade."

Michael blinked at her. "You hate Jade."

"Well…yeah…She's a bitch. But I like Hunter." She said with a shrug.

Michael let out a little sigh and then shook his head. "Hunter's working."

"Well I don't need a baby-sitter. I'm sixteen." She let out a frustrated breath, rolling her eyes. "But fine, I'll go to Ben's stupid lec-" but she cut off midsentence.

Gus had walked in just then, grabbing his apron from the hook on the counter, and putting it on. He looked up at her for a half a second, and then just as quickly turned away from her, trying to look busy by wiping down the counter. J.R. tried to hold in the tears that had chosen now to pool in her eyes. She let out a breath and then pulled out her sketch book, drawing dark thick lines of nothing. It made her feel good to press hard against the white paper, and to just draw. The tears in her eyes were turning to angry hot tears rather than sad cold ones. And sooner rather than later they were falling on the page, ruining her picture, that wasn't really a picture at all.

"Hey, Hey, Hey." Ben said putting an arm around her. "Hey. It's okay. Relax. Take a deep breath." She turned her face into Ben's side, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. It took a few minutes, but eventually she'd calmed herself down enough to stop the rapid tear flow. She pulled back from Ben sucking in a breath.

"Sorry. Thank you. I guess I'm just not having a great morning." She sniffed.

"That's okay." Ben said with a little reassuring smile.

She looked up at her dad. "Do I look okay? Not all read and puffy and cry-y?" She said in a little voice.

Michael shook his head. "No. You look great Honey bun."

She rolled her eyes sniffing, and she would've been fine, if Gus hadn't chosen that moment to come over to their table to ask if they needed anything.

"Uh…nope. I'm good." Ben said, and then looked over at Michael.

"I'm…just fine." He said, but there was a little bitterness to his voice, before he asked. " How about you, J.R.? Do you need anything honeybun?"

J.R. looked up then, her eyes on Gus, but his eyes were on the wall behind her. Anger built up inside of her like a volcano and soon she was erupting.

"Yeah. I do need something." She said through her teeth. "I want to know why the FUCK you're not talking to me."

Gus looked up at her then, eyes wide. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, asshole. Why the fuck aren't you talking to me? You're avoiding me."

Gus, rolled his eyes and then an arrogant little smirk over took his face. "Why would I need to talk to you?"

J.R. shook her head a little, and then looked down at the table. "You said this wouldn't happen." She said in a soft voice.

Gus laughed, rolling his eyes again. "Well, I guess I lied. Anything else you need? Preferably something that has to do with my Job and not whatever is personally bothering you."

"You take my virginity and then you go all asshole on me? Sorry but this is all just a _little_ too Gossip Girl for me. What the hell happened to you?" She shook her head again. "Fuck you, Gus." She said pushing herself out of the diner seat, and practically running for the door.

Michael watched her leave and then turned back to Ben and Gus.

"Did she just say _virginity? _You had SEX with my daughter!" Michael looked as if he might explode.

Ben placed a hand on top of Michael's to calm him down. "Michael, relax. That's not what's important right now. We need to take care of J.R."

Gus sighed, "I have work to do." He said in an annoyed sounding voice before going back behind the counter.

"That little shit!" Michael exclaimed moving out of the booth as Ben followed him.

"I know. I know…but that's not what's important right now. There's a sixteen year old girl outside who just got her heart-broken…that's important."

Michael shook his head. "You go after her. Take her to your lecture. I'm calling Brian and were going to sit down and have a talk with that little shit who calls himself part of the family."

Ben sighed, "Alright, but calm down first." He pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll see you at home."

Michael nodded. "Yeah, don't forget Justin's art show tonight and then we're all going to Lindsey's for dinner."

"It's already in my palm pilot." He said with a little smile rubbing his arm, before jogging after J.R.


End file.
